Cien
by Neopuff
Summary: A series of 100 Generator Rex ficlets (and some very long oneshots). Mostly Holix! But lots of other ships and character centric pieces.
1. 1-10

Heyyy everyone! I know I haven't posted any GenRex fic in a while, but that's mostly 'cause…I've been working on this! Verrrry slowly. I'm pretty sure I started this well over a year ago using some random prompt generator. And I'm almost done! I wanted to make sure I had at least 90 out of the 100 fics written before I started posting them. And with 93 (and a half!) done, I figured it's about time to start.

The fics weren't written in order, so the writing style or…well…it's possible there are different things going on with some of these fics. They aren't chronologically connected, most of them contradict each other, etc, etc. Oh, yeah, and it's like 80% Six/Holiday stuff :'D

This first chapter is mostly drabbles, I think it's only around 3200 words in total. BUT chapter four is like 7000 words and currently chapter ten is 15000 words. So there's some variety in here hahahaha. Anyway, hoooooope you enjoy!

 **1\. Introduction**  
 **:: Six, Holiday, Beverly**

"Six, can you stay with Beverly for a second? I just need to grab something from the next room..."

The agent watched Dr. Holiday as she practically floated out the door; he had never seen her so outwardly happy before. He felt...oddly content in knowing that he had something to do with that. Turning around, he saw the other reason: the teenage girl staring at him from the examination table.

"So...Agent Six, huh?" She hopped off the table and strolled towards him. "That's a weird name."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "I suppose so."

There was an awkward silence for almost a minute before Beverly spoke up again. " _Sooo..._ " she started, glancing up and around Six's head.

"...so?" he responded, shifting his weight at the sound of the door opening, Holiday obviously having had returned.

"So are you Rebecca's boyfriend?"

Not expecting the question, Six spoke an undignified, "I, uh..." while Dr. Holiday let out a small squeak and ran over, pushing Beverly back to the examination table.

After glaring at a confused Beverly, Rebecca glanced over at Six. "Um, I think Rex wanted to talk to you, Six."

He immediately started towards the door. "Right."

As soon as the door closed, Rebecca attempted to continue glaring at Beverly, who just laughed at her sister. "He seems nice," she commented.

Dr. Holiday couldn't help but smile. "Yeah...he is."

 **2\. Complicated**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

"So what do you see on _this_ blot?"

Glancing over, Six smirked as pushed the sunglasses higher on his nose. "I see... _you_...in a string bikini. Looking good, as expected."

She blushed and glared at him. "I'm trying to help you here! You have to tell me what you actually see!"

He rolled onto his side, completely facing her now. "That's too complicated. I'd rather say what I _wanna_ see." And the smirk came back.

She pouted and turned around, clicking a button on the monitor for the next Rorschach blot to appear. "Try telling me what you _actually_ see this time."

 **3\. Making History**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

He glanced down at the woman next to him, curtain closed (for the moment) in front of them, himself in one of his nicer suits. She was wearing a beautiful, but professional gown, hair up in the bun as usual, and a little extra makeup to make her eyes pop to even those further back in the crowd.

She looked over at him, somehow always managing to lock her eyes with his, even without being able to see them.

He broke her gaze and stared at the curtain. "Ready to give your big speech?"

She let out a nervous chuckle. "I, uh, I suppose so..."

With a raised eyebrow and a reflex he didn't know he had, Six reached out and gently squeezed her hand. "You'll do fine."

She squeezed back and smiled softly at him. "...yeah, thanks."

 **4\. Rivalry**  
 **:: Six, Rex, Holiday, Caesar ::** **From an AU I'm never gonna write. Imagine Six Minus Six with months instead of years, so the big things Six misses are Caesar, One, and Beverly. Oh, and his date with Holiday!**

"So...who is he again?"

Rex sighed and closed his eyes, but immediately shook his head. Things could be worse. At least Six remembered most of them. "That's my brother. He's the reason you're like this...but it wasn't on purpose! So don't, uh, don't kill him or anything."

A raised eyebrow in response. "Do I usually threaten to kill him?"

Rex opened his mouth to give a quick 'no', but paused. "Uh...well, not a _lot_."

Six's mouth formed a straight line as he turned from Rex and stared over at Caesar, who was currently talking to Dr. Holiday.

Well, _she_ was talking to _him_. More like scolding. ...it was similar to how she yelled at himself, actually.

At that realization, Six turned back to Rex. He didn't need to know where his own thoughts were headed. "So he's...what? A scientist?"

"Yeah," Rex nodded. "like Holiday. Since he was around for the original Nanite Event, sometimes they work together or he'll take over watching over my bios. I think it's been good for the Doc."

Six couldn't help a glance back at the two scientists. Worked together, huh? "Hm...that's good."

Rex raised an eyebrow this time. "Uh...yeah." Six kept staring over at the scientists and he didn't really get why.

"Anyone _else_ move in these past few months?" Six asked, eyes still locked on Holiday and Caesar. He couldn't quite explain what was making him so uncomfortable about this man.

"Not that I can-oh!" Rex smacked himself on the forehead, making Six look back at him in slight concern. "Duh! Beverly!"

"Bever-...Holiday's sister?"

"Yeah! She's cured! But Holiday hasn't been able to replicate it yet."

Six blinked a few times behind his sunglasses. "...wow. That's...wow."

"Yup! And it was all thanks to you!" Rex smirked and nudged the man in the side. He kind of wanted to tell Six the whole story, but figured Holiday wouldn't appreciate that. He also had _another_ story to tell Six about...but he'd wait until they had a private moment. Or at least until Six was caught up with everything else.

"Me? Not your _brother_?" Six asked scornfully, immediately regretting the second question.

Rex paused, mouth pouty, staring at Six. His brother? Why would Six think his brother had-...hmm. Oh, wow. That pout on his face turned into a huge smile and Rex finally realized why Six was spending so much time staring at the scientists. Was it possible ol' Six was _jealous_? "Oh no, not Caesar. It was _all_ you. The Doc was _very_ grateful. _Very_."

Six quirked an eyebrow at Rex's emphasis on "very". It sounded suspicious.

"But you should talk to _her_ about it!" Rex got it and started towards the scientists. "I'll distract Caesar and then you can have your alone time!"

Six glared and was about to object, but Rex was already grabbing his brother's arm and pulling him away from the Doc. Holiday crossed her arms and balanced her weight on to one side, before shaking her head and walking over to a very confused Six.

"Did Rex update you on everything?"

Six chewed the inside of his cheek before responding with a quiet, "...not sure."

She sat down next to the agent. "Okay, what _did_ he tell you?"

Six didn't look at her. "About his brother. About your sister." A pause, and then, "...that's great, by the way, that she's cured. How is she?"

Holiday blinked, surprised by his response. "Um, she's fine. Thanks." She tugged her hair behind her ear, realizing that Rex just got the two biggest things out of the way. "Well...is there anything you really want to hear about or should I just go through the whole timeline?"

Six suppressed a smirk at that, but couldn't stop himself from answering with, "What's Rex's brother like?"

She wasn't exactly expecting that question, but shrugged it off and looked to the ceiling in thought. "Well he's...he's a genius, undeniably."

Six let out a huff that he hoped Holiday didn't notice. A _genius_ , huh?

"Though I'll admit he's a bit odd...and you actually didn't like him much. I think you may have threatened to kill him once or twice." She let out a small laugh at the thought. "Oh, I shouldn't laugh at that."

Six, rather than think it was funny, was glad he hadn't changed much in these past six months. "I imagine him being here has been good for Rex. Learned a lot about his past?"

She smiled. "Yes, absolutely! It's been great, actually. Caesar even took Rex to visit some family friends a few months back."

Six nodded in response, not sure what else to say. He wanted to ask about Beverly, but he also wanted to ask about...Holiday and Caesar. Not that he really thought there was anything there, but...still. Curiosity.

"...so Rex says you haven't been able to replicate the process that cured Beverly," Six started. "...do you know if you'll ever be able to?"

Rebecca closed her eyes and patted nonexistent dust off her skirt. "I...hope so. The whole story is pretty long, but the basic problem is that I didn't create the machine that cured Beverly, I just altered it so it would work. And the man who _did_ create it is still on the run."

"On the run?" He raised an eyebrow.

Sighing, Holiday put her hands together on her knees. "I suppose I should just tell you the whole story. I...I was stupid. It was Beverly's birthday and I was getting anxious - and there'd been a recent unveiling by Dr. Brandon Moses - a very well known scientist in the study of nanites - that he could cure incurables. Out of desperation, I...paid him to help Beverly. It was so stupid. I can't tell you how much money I lost because of that."

He felt himself grow angrier while she spoke. It _did_ sound like she made a stupid mistake, but he understood how awful she'd felt all these years. He wanted to strangle this Moses guy.

"Anyways, so he took Beverly, turned out it was all a scam - he'd been supercharging EVOs with extra nanites instead of curing them - and your friend with pink hair told us where to find him-"

"Five?" he interrupted, somewhat bewildered. He rarely asked Five for favors, unless it was _absolutely_ necessary.

She shrugged. "I think that's what she called herself."

He nodded, deciding to disregard that fact and let the doctor continue.

"We found Moses, he supercharged Beverly, and then got away while I altered his machine so it would be able to cure her. Unfortunately, it needed a way to reverse the polarization so...you used your magnablades on it. ...almost died, too."

Eyebrow raised, Six was somewhat impressed with these actions he couldn't remember. He didn't want to remember the pain, obviously, but being able to see Holiday's face when she first saw Beverly again would've been worth it.

"I'm sorry."

She looked up, almost confused at first, but then let out a small laugh and cover her mouth with her hand. "Sorry? I may have been scared out of my mind, but...you were fine and you saved Beverly. You don't have to apologize for _anything_."

He smiled just a bit at that. "I'm glad I could help."

"Me too," she said, smiling back in response. After a moment, she turned away from him and messed with her hair...debating whether or not to tell him the rest of the story.

"Anything happen after that?"

Rebecca felt her cheeks flare up and she cleared her throat in an attempt to settle down. "I-uh...not really, no."

"...not really or not at all?"

She flushed again and turned away from him. "Not at all."

She was pretty obviously lying, and Six had some decent guesses as to why. His number one guess, though...what would he do if he almost died? Something he'd always considered, but never actually felt the need to do.

He smirked, knowing he was probably right. Those thoughts earlier about Caesar and Holiday were completely washed away - he knew where he stood.

 **5\. Unbreakable**  
 **:: Holiday, Six**

Punching bag. She needed a punching bag.

Walking into the small, but well-fitted gym, Holiday kicked off her shoes and situated herself in front of the punching bag she'd been searching for.

If only it had Black Knight's face on it.

A quick left hook, then a couple more straight-forward punches before she just flipped around and sent a roundhouse kick to its middle. With the size of the bag, it shook slightly, but didn't really move.

Holiday glared at it angrily. How _dare_ it not burst into a milllion pieces, just like she wanted Black Knight to do!? It should be on the floor, begging for _mercy_.

She punched and kicked at it more. And more. And she was so tired _but she couldn't stop._

Eventually she just gripped the sides of the bag and slid down to the floor. Her knuckles were bruised and her face was red and she felt sweaty and gross, but she still didn't feel better.

Pretty confidently, she knew the only thing that would make her feel better was getting the tomb back. After all of her _searching_ ; she'd been down in that tunnel for _days_ , not able to contact the guys or eat anything more than the small things she packed, and it was _gone_ in two seconds.

Black. Knight. _Goddamn Black Knight._

She got up and started punching again.

An hour or two later, Six walked into the gym, ready to train for a bit himself. When he saw Holiday, passed out and leaning against the punching bag, he scrapped that and immediately brought her to her room.

She usually wasn't so careless. He was glad he held her back for attacking Black Knight back in Egypt – who knows what might've happened.

 **6\. Obsession**  
 **:: Holiday, Beverly**

Beverly's head shook back and forth as her headphones blasted music loud enough for her sister to hear it on the other side of the room. Rebecca stomped over and pulled the phones off Bev's head, making the younger girl finally look up at her. "Hey – what was _that_ for?!"

"Beverly, your music is _too_ loud. And you're always listening to this _same_ band! Don't you like anything else?" She held in the desire for something classical, or oldies – of course Bev wouldn't listen to that.

"I _love_ the Trendbenders! Why would I stop listening to them?" The younger sister grabbed her headphones back and started to put them on, when Rebecca's hand pulled one of the phones away from her ear.

"Just keep the volume down! I don't need to hear how obsessed you are."

"I'm not _obsessed!_ They're just really good!" She flicked her hair. "Don't know why you can't hear that."

Rebecca rolled her eyes and grabbed another book. This is exactly why she didn't feel the need to come home every few months. She had _work_ to do if she wanted to get her third PhD before she turned thirty.

 **7\. Eternity**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

"What if he doesn't come back for _years?_ "

Six glanced up at the woman in front of him. It'd been four months since Rex's disappearance into the time stream. It'd been three and a half months since Black Knight took over and they broke away from Providence. Every month or so, she'd gone through this pessimistic speech and he'd roll his eyes and tell her to _stop worrying_ , she _calculated_ this, Rex will be back in a few months at the most.

"We should be doing something."

The agent turned his full attention to her. "We _have_ been doing something. All those EVOs we've collected – that you've been studying? Remember those?"

She glared at him. "We should be doing _more!_ "

"What more could we possibly do? Rex will be back soon. We can't cure EVOs until then, so we _have_ to let Black Knight use her collars on the more dangerous EVOs." He made some hand motions for emphasis, hoping this would be the last time she went through her "Rex isn't coming back!" phase.

She started to glare at him again, but the mention of a cure made her eyebrows pop up. "Of course! I should be working more on the cure." She got up and headed to her lab.

Six quickly followed her, grabbing her arm by the elbow. "Holiday."

She tugged at him, but turned around when her efforts were in vain. " _What?_ "

He pulled her closer to him. "You should visit your sister or something. Take some time off."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Get away for a while. I'll handle things here. Before you know it, Rex'll be back and you can stop getting so fussed about it." He let go of her arm, but they stayed in relatively close proximity.

She looked down from his face and stared at his chest, glancing back and forth. "I guess that, um..."

He smirked. "Unless you'd like me to come with you?"

She smirked back and shoved him a bit away from her. "No, I think you could use the quality time with White and Bobo."

She almost laughed when his smile dropped. He hadn't even thought about that.

 **8\. Gateway**  
 **:: Six**

He was surprised. Very, very surprised.

Never actually having the time or patience, Six hadn't paid much attention to religion. He didn't follow Christianity, or Judaism, or Shintoism or Buddhism or Islam. There was too much effort and all he needed to know was that no matter which God you followed, He wasn't going to give you money or food to help you survive.

But he hadn't quite called himself an _atheist_. In the chance that he would die, he liked to imagine there was something else to look forward to. Though he knew, with his track record, it wouldn't be anything good, he still liked to imagine there was _something_.

But this – _this_ – was not what he imagined.

 _This_ gate, the one in front of him, the one he could only imagine he was supposed to enter...

It was white.

 **9\. Death**  
 **:: White, Holiday**

"White."

The aforementioned man looked up at the screen in front of him quickly as Dr. Holiday strode into his 'office'. "Do you need something, Dr. Holiday?"'

" _What_ are we going to do about Six?"

He looked away from her, to something else on the screen, and she noticed him flick a few buttons around. "Salazar's still working on his machine. If he gets it fixed and Six agrees to be given his memories back, then there's no problem."

"...and if either of those don't work out...?"

Her boss' eyes drooped and his frown got deeper than usual. "...then the Six you knew is dead and gone."

She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. "Yes, I figured that, but...you knew him at that point in time, is he going to stay working here or what?"

White shrugged absentmindedly. "I suppose it's his choice at this point. Perhaps with some... _convincing_ ," he gave her a raised eyebrow, and she responded with an appalled blush and a glare that made him know not to breach that subject again, "we wouldn't have to worry about him sneaking off before Salazar can fix his stupid machine. Otherwise, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. This Six is...unpredictable."

She huffed. "He's unpredictably immature."

White smirked at her. "What, you're complaining that he's flirting? I would've thought you'd enjoy that."

She frowned at the older man, glaring hard. "No, I _don't_ , and I'd appreciate if you _wouldn't_ think that." Angered, she turned around and stormed out of the white room, muttering about how as of that morning, _all_ the men at Providence were pigs, and there was not one exception.

As soon as the door closed, White Knight let out a heavy sigh and massaged his temples. Irritating Dr. Holiday usually made him feel better, but this situation had...very little chance of turning out to be a good thing. Maybe he needed to talk to Rex.

 **10.** **Opportunities**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

That was the perfect moment. He was gonna say it. He was going to actually...tell her how he felt.

Or was he?

Six groaned, sunglasses off, rubbing his temples, and sitting on the edge of his bed. This past day had been...frustrating, to say the least. Holiday had been away for more than the few days she initially told them, and when he suggested they go get her, that stupid monkey wouldn't stop making _comments._ And then there was Rex with his godawful _smirking._

And then they found her and they were fine and he was back to normal...and then they were about to die. What else could he do? Bobo knew it. Rex knew it.

It was, only at that moment...that he knew it, too.

And of course he, then, chickened out. His old self never said it, either, as far as he knew – and there was no chance he hadn't felt the same.

Six sighed, and got up from the bed, headed to the bathroom.

He lost his perfect opportunity – now he honestly didn't think he'd ever tell her.


	2. 11-20

HAHA whoops, the days slipped me by and I didn't even notice that yesterday was Thursday. So this is a few hours late, whaaatevs. These fics are a little longer than the first chapter's, and I think there's more angst and character variety. We're startin' to mix it uuuup! :D

Oh right, and to my one guest review - yes, LinaTrinch did one of these a few years ago! Lina and I are buds so I grabbed the idea off of her hahaha. Enjoy!

 **11\. 33%**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

When she let the words slip out of her mouth, she immediately regretted it. Knowing Six, he'd still go for it. He'd say yes and risk his life. That's how Six was.

 _"Six...your magnablades. No - it'd be too dangerous."_

He nodded. She knew him so well. And only a few seconds later was he standing atop the machine, swords swung together above his head, and she punched buttons while Rex punched Beverly. This might actually work. Rex was overpowering Beverly. She knew the math was all correct. Six was...

Six was struggling. She could see it. And his voice - so strained, he'd never sounded so in pain - shows no concern for himself.

 _"Is it working?"_

Of course it's working - she rarely messed up her calculations. And even though she didn't know Moses' machine perfectly, she knew those magnablades and how they worked. She knew as much as she could about this machine and the blades _should_ do what she needed them to do.

She glanced down at the screen. _Thirty-three percent._ And it kept going up. This was working. This was going to work. Beverly was going to be okay.

 _"...it's working."_

 **12\. Dead Wrong**  
 **:: Holiday**

Sure, she'd thought about it before. _"What was Six like before the Nanite Event?"_ She imagined him as very calculating and cold - he _was_ a killer, after all.

Other things she expected? Maybe even more antisocial than he was now. He'd probably still be wearing that SWAT-like suit she remembered him wearing the day they met. Just running around, getting missions, assassinating people, making a ridiculous amount of money.

What she _didn't_ expect, though, was...what she got.

How did that man go from being so social and flirtatious and...and rebellious and irresponsible...to the man she'd known for the past few years?

Sure, the irresponsibility and rebelliousness made a bit of sense. She supposed being raised by a mercenary wasn't exactly high-class living. Or was it? Alright, she honestly had no idea.

But Six was so...against social gatherings. He didn't like being surrounded by people. He barely liked being around _her_ , or so she thought until recent events convinced her otherwise, but apparently he used to be _very_ friendly. Very, _very_ friendly...around women. Women who looked like herself.

His hands grabbing for hers and holding them together felt so _foreign_. His smirk everytime he looked at her was completely _alien._ The way he called her "Dr. Beautiful" and "Dr. Gorgeous" was downright _insulting._ The way he did everything was just...it was strange.

This would take some getting used to.

 **13\. Running Away**  
 **:: Circe, Cricket, Skwydd, Tuck**

Closer. They were getting closer and closer and _closer._

The lights shone, they had to squint just to see a way out. Alarms exploded left and right, their ears ringing. Footsteps behind them, in front of them, _all around them._ They weren't gonna make it.

" _Circe, this way!_ " Cricket whispered, motioning to a hole in the wall Skwydd and Tuck had just slipped through. The EVO girl hurried over, getting out of the way just as a bright light appeared from an above helicopter right where she'd been.

" _Circe!_ " Cricket whispered again, tugging the girl's arm. " _We've gotta move!_ "

Circe looked over at her friend and nodded, quickly following her down their cramped pathway. This was not going to be an easy journey.

 **14\. Judgement**  
 **:: White, Six**

He still remembers when they met. This man, this _ninja_ , he was ruthless, but he had fun while he did it. Sometimes it was concerning, but then again, he'd been the same way.

They'd gotten along great - being hired to kill people wasn't an occupation where you expected to make friends. They'd first met by chance, but afterwards almost relied on one another for help when it was needed.

Rather than a friendship, it was more like a partnership. Sure, there was always the fear and paranoia of backstabbing and trust being broken, but that was how the business went. For the most part, they got along just fine.

And then came the Nanite Event. No more killing _humans_ , now there were gigantic freakish monsters to take down. A new challenge - exciting, gave them that adrenaline rush they really needed.

The ninja visited his Master every couple of months. That time, when he returned, he was different. He didn't have fun killing these things anymore. When it was brought up to him, he shrugged and said he was getting too old for this stuff.

Funny, how he was talking to someone almost ten years his senior.

Obviously, the man was going soft. He'd heard that can happen to mercenaries like them. He never imagined it could happen to _Six._

He kept getting worse. Less and less interested in the fight, and more and more interested in the struggle. He stopped caring about the rush from bloody swords and decapitated heads, he cared about what the scientists were studying and what happens with the EVOs that are captured.

They'd already started to drift apart. And even more than losing an interest in fighting, suddenly he showed no interest in women. Barely an interest in eating or sleeping.

He knew what depression looked like, but this was _Six._ How could it be possible?

Initially, when the ninja started following the pretty doctor around - he was surprised and happy. Perhaps this woman was the key to getting him back on his feet.

 _She made it worse._ Then he started keeping secrets. It became less of a pleasure to spend time with him, and more like a chore.

And then there was the explosion, he thought he was _dead_. But instead he returns with a kid, some kid who can 'save everything', some kid who he'll show to the doctor and she'll tell him it's gonna be okay.

As the man in green walked away, the brunette clenched his teeth and curled his hands into fists. He couldn't hope for his partner to return. Not anytime soon and not anytime at all.

 **15\. Rumors**  
 **:: Rex, Six, Holiday**

He'd only been at this Providence place for a few weeks. It was stable, though he lived in what he was _pretty sure_ was a closet and shared that rental space with a talking chimp. But hey, for all he knew, this was the best he'd ever had.

Thirteen-year-old Rex wandered around the halls of Providence Headquarters, deciding he needed a few moments away from Bobo. Not that he didn't totally love hanging around the monkey, it's just the _smell_ was hard to get used to.

He _had_ learned a lot about the people he'd be spending the next few years with. Agent Six was really harsh and kind of lame in the fun department, but hey - Six also saved his life, so...that got him some extra points. Doc Holiday was a total hottie and super nice...but she was also really strict when it came to hygiene and studying stupid stuff like history and math. And White Knight was just all bad news - he was mean and nasty and treated Rex like a tool.

There were plenty of other soldiers - but they didn't seem to like Rex too much or didn't pay much attention to him. He didn't mind, he had Bobo to be friends with!

Though while walking down the hallway, he couldn't help but be curious when he heard two names he recognized being mentioned in a conversation in the other room. He leaned his ear against the door, trying to hear more of it.

 _"He wasn't even a full employee until he found the stupid kid."_

 _"And how old is she? Barely even thirty? How the hell is she our head researcher?"_

 _"It's probably 'cause no one else wants to take care of that reckless kid. White Knight practically assigned them to be his parents."_

 _"Maybe that's why he gave them those jobs - it's payment for having to watch over such a brat!"_

At that, Rex was already headed back down the hallway. He knew there were more reasons why he didn't want to talk to anyone else at Providence. These guys were all _jerks._

As he continued walking, he realized he was heading towards Dr. Holiday's lab, and in walking in, he immediately saw Six and Holiday chatting.

And, if he heard right, they were talking about _him._ Holiday was standing in front of her desk, looking through some papers, and Six leaning against the side of the same desk. As Rex entered, Six stopped talking and looked over to him, raising an eyebrow. Noticing that, Holiday followed his line of sight and smiled at Rex.

"Hey Rex! Need something?"

Rex kept the frown on his face as he looked between the two of them. Hands in his pockets, he kicked the ground a little bit and turned his head away from them.

Six stood up straight at that. "Rex? What's wrong?"

Rex shrugged and paused for a second, not knowing whether or not he actually wanted to ask what he was thinking. After another second, he figured there really wasn't a point, those stupid grunts didn't know what they were talking about - so he just smiled back at the two of them, said, "Nothing! Just wanderin' around," before turning around and walking back out of the room.

Rebecca and Six glanced at each other, concern evident on their faces.

"...what was _that_ about?" Holiday asked, shuffling the papers into an organized pile.

Six stared at the door Rex exited through. "No idea."

She turned around, noticing Six's concern and internally smirking. This guy tried not to show that he cared, but he couldn't hide everything. "You gonna go talk to him?"

Six raised an eyebrow at her and headed out the door. "Not my job."

After he was gone, she sighed. Barely even thirty and she had two stubborn boys to deal with.

 **16\. Excuses**  
 **:: Noah, Claire**

"So what'd you think of Buchiner's test today?"

Noah smiled as he answered his girlfriend, happy to be able to take her on a date for their three month anniversary. He'd never expected her to go out with him in the first place, the fact that it'd be _months_ already was such a good sign.

They continued their animated conversation and ate pizza together, when suddenly Noah's phone rang. He picked it up and stared at the caller ID.

"Who is it?"

"It's Rex. I'll just be a sec," Noah answered, putting the phone to his ear. "What's up?"

"...yeah."

"Well, no, Rex, I'm out with Claire-"

" _Yeah_ , I know, but I'm not-"

"...okay, _fine._ I'll be there soon." He closed the phone and sighed.

Claire put down her slice and frowned. "You're leaving?"

"Um...yeah. But I'll be back as soon as I can!"

Sighing, she packed up the pizza and slurped some of her soda. "Yeah...let's not pretend that that's actually gonna be anytime soon. I'll just head home."

"Claire, I'm _so_ sorry! It's just- Rex needs my help! It's a life or death situation!"

"I know, Noah, I get that!" she responded. "It's just...it's _always_ a life or death situation. And it's not that I don't believe you, it's just...is Rex aware that you're just a regular person?"

Noah blinked at his girlfriend. "Well, I _did_ go through basic training for a Providence soldi-wait! _Claire!_ "

She'd already started packing up her stuff and walking towards her car, when Noah shuffled in front of her.

"Go help your boyfriend, Noah - you can call me later," she said before shoving him out of the way.

Noah just rubbed the back of his head and looked back at the remains of their ruined date. Rex owed him _big time!_

 **17\. Vengeance**  
 **:: Haden-Scott**

He was _shamed._ He was treated with complete _disrespect._ All over a _rumor_.

His political career was over. His wife and kids were slandered. His parents were unable to leave their home without constant criticism.

All he had left was his company - the company he had to publicly abandon in order to keep running. His second-in-command handled all public appearances, while he was stuck hiding from the criticizing eyes of the world.

He _would_ return. He _would_ have his revenge on the media that ruined his name. He refused to let them beat him.

 **18\. Love**  
 **:: Cricket, Rex, Skwydd, Tuck**

"Hey Rex - are you sure about this job?" Tuck asked, pausing to take a few breaths before following his friend to the next rooftop.

Skwydd and Rex turned around to face their bud and wait for him to catch up. "C'mon, Tuck, try using your power things! You'll definitely go faster!" Rex shouted, hands around his mouth.

"Um...okay," Tuck responded, still uncomfortable with his mutant abilities. He extended his arms and attempted to release the paper-like substances from his arms. They reached out towards Rex, who grabbed on to them to help Tuck make his way over.

Rex tugged and Tuck jumped his way over, initially landing on his feet, but falling to his knees. "Yeah, Rex, I don't think I can do that yet. All I can manage is tying people up..."

Shrugging, Rex turned around. "Whatever. You'll get the hang of it soon!"

As Tuck started to get up, Skwydd held out a tentacle-ish hand. "Shh! Do you hear that?"

Rex activated two small robotic fists and spun around in excitement. "What?! Hear what?!"

" _Shh!_ I totally heard a scream!" Sqywydd repeated, running towards the edge of the building. "There!"

Rex and Tuck ran over to where Skwydd was kneeling and looked down at the alley below. There were three humanoid-looking mutants - two of them obviously ganging up on the other. The other who _definitely_ seemed like just a young girl.

She was limping, and there was a small pool of blood underneath her. Even in the darkness, all three boys could clearly see that she was definitely in trouble. And even at the young age of eleven - these boys were not about to let a little girl get hurt.

"What do we do?!" Tuck whispered, looking over to Rex and Skwydd. "Those guys are _huge!_ My powers won't do anything!"

Skwydd bit his lip. "All I can do is make smoke...Rex! You have to help her!"

Nodding, Rex deactivated his fists, created giant feet instead, and got ready to jump down into the alley. "Don't worry guys - I've got this! _Hey! Watch out below!_ " he shouted on his way down.

All three mutants immediately looked up, the small girl's tears blurring her vision, and the two larger mutants couldn't move fast enough to avoid the large metal feet that landed on their heads.

Rex landed roughly, easily breaking multiple bones of the creatures he smashed. After a moment of composure, he turned his feet back to normal and jumped off the two mutants. "Oh...gross. Are they dead?"

A squeak from behind him reminded Rex that there was a girl there who was probably still hurt...he turned around quickly and reached out a hand. "Hey, are you okay?"

She shook her head back and forth in response, visibly shivering from fear. "I-I...a-are you...g-...going to kill m-me?"

Rex dropped his hand, a frown appearing on his face. "What? No, what? I just saved you! Why would I hurt you?"

The girl continued shaking her head. "I...you...why?"

He shrugged, and reached out his hand again to help her. "Can't let a cute girl like you get hurt, can I?"

She slowly reached out and grabbed his outstretched hand. "...thank you," she said quietly, reaching her arms around his neck to hug him.

Rex smiled at her actions, and looked up at the roof to make sure Tuck and Skwydd saw how heroic he was. They both gave him a thumbs up, and Rex returned the gesture.

"Hey, are you hurt?" he asked, looking back down at the girl.

She pulled back from the hug and nodded. "It's my leg...those guys had a knife and they-they just attacked me and I-"

Rex shook his head. "You don't have to relive it, don't worry. Me and my buds'll take you back to our hideout."

"...you don't have to do tha-eep!" she started to say, when Rex reached down and lifted her up, bridal-style. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, Rex bit his lip and focused on his back as some metallic tendrils started escaping from his shoulders. After a few seconds, the unnamed fans he'd been working on sprouted from his back, and the girl squeaked as they were suddenly lifted off the ground.

Tuck and Skwydd were both pretty obviously impressed as Rex landed sloppily on the rooftop, his machine falling apart. "Hey guys! This is-! ...oh, wait, what's your name?"

She looked back at him, finding herself unintentionally staring at her savior's smiling face. After a moment of staring, when he raised an eyebrow, she blushed and looked down. "...it's Cricket."

"Cricket? That's a cool name!" Rex commented. "I'm Rex. That's Tuck and Walter."

Skwydd frowned. "Call me _Skwydd._ "

"Right, _Skwydd._ My bad."

Cricket nodded and smiled. "Thank you guys so much for helping me...I don't know how I can repay you."

Tuck reached a hand forward and grabbed her shoulder. "You don't have to do that!"

At that, she just looked between all three boys and smiled happily. She felt like she hadn't smiled so brightly in months. And it was all thanks to these three guys...

Skwydd, Tuck...and _Rex._

 **19\. Tears**  
 **:: Holiday, Beverly, White, Callan**

"Three o'clock. She's late _again_."

Beverly tapped her foot impatiently while waiting for her sister in the school parking lot. It was only the third week of the new school year, and Rebecca had been late in picking her up the past two days. Beverly understood that Rebecca was very _busy_ and she was trying to get her third degree by the end of the year - but honestly, when you offer to drive someone to and from school for the first month of school, you gotta do what you promised! It was just common courtesy.

Sighing, she spent the next minute wandering around the parking lot, seeing if any of her friends were still around. Since most of them rode the bus home, obviously _not_ , but it never hurt to look.

There were a couple of kids hanging around by the dumpsters playing hacky sack, another group was peering over a car with an open hood, and then there was a group of teachers discussing something that would probably bore her to death.

After a moment, Bev figured she could go try to join those kids playing hacky sack - when suddenly she felt a tingly sensation in her hands. She put her backpack on the ground, feeling intensely uncomfortable.

Another second later, the tingling hadn't stopped, but Beverly felt a liquidy substance roll down to her lip. She brought a hand up, pulling it back to see _blood_. She rarely, _very_ rarely, got nosebleeds. Something was wrong.

Taking out her cell phone, Bev tried to ignore the feeling in her hands as she flipped it open and started scrolling to Rebecca's number. When she finally got to Rebecca's number, she noticed her vision getting blurry. The tingling wasn't stopping. Her nose was still bleeding.

She pressed the CALL button and started to cry. She knew what was happening. It wasn't hard to figure out - they saw this stuff on the news all the time. Rebecca was particularly fascinated with it - Beverly just thought it was scary, but hey! At least it wasn't happening to anyone she knew.

Until now, apparently.

The phone rang once; Beverly's kneeling on the ground finally getting the attention of those teachers nearby.

The phone rang twice; Beverly's muscles twitched and spazzed to the point where she dropped her phone on the ground, unable to control her movements _at all_. The teachers backed away - one of them pulling out their phone and calling 911.

The phone started to ring a third time, then there was a click and a quiet "I'll be there soon!", but Beverly couldn't pay attention anymore. She fell flat to the ground, and kept her eyes open long enough to see large grey blobs appear on her hand and arm. She screamed - or she thought she did - high-pitched, girly...and then it was deeper, almost a low growl that transformed into a monstrous shriek. Beverly couldn't think straight anymore.

A worn-out, dark blue car quickly drove into the parking lot, slowing down the moment Beverly's figure could be seen in the distance.

The teachers had shuffled all the nearby students out of the way as long, black, spider-like legs shot out of Beverly's spine, her shirt ripping to shreds and the pieces of pink fabric falling to the gravel below. Her legs and arms grew longer, her skin turning dark and then being covered in a gray fur. Her hair - falling out of the ponytail she'd kept it in, turned black and fell to frame the face that replaced the one she'd had before.

Rebecca almost tripped exiting her car, screaming her sister's name at the monster in front of her. She could see, underneath its transforming form, Beverly's backpack, her phone, and scraps of her clothes. Either this monster ate her sister, or... ...

It let out a menacing scream, giant spider-legs holding up the large, grotesque torso. Rebecca was certain, this thing was her sister. She wanted to cry. She wanted to do something. She was _scared out of her mind_.

It turned to her. She felt her heart stop. It took a step towards her. She felt the urge to run - but _no_ , that would provoke it, obviously. It took another step towards her, and Rebecca couldn't help but take an instinctive step back. It huffed loudly before beginning to charge at a phenomenal pace.

Rebecca felt everything slow down as she thought about how this was probably the worst way she could die. At the hands of her sister, whom she adored more than anyone else in the world.

The creature lifted one of its front legs, sharp claws at the end ready to strike at Rebecca. She closed her eyes and covered her head, barely able to hear the screams of warning coming from the nearby bystanders and waiting for the inevitable.

The attack never came. Rather, she heard a gunshot, followed by the monster letting out another long, loud growl. She opened her eyes quickly, seeing a group of men in black and white suits running towards the monster with tranquilizer guns and regular guns and net guns and it seemed like they had a billion different kinds of guns.

Everything was silent for a few moments as she witnessed a handful of these people shooting at the monster, which escaped from its initial netted cage with a single slice. Suddenly, however, there was a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see an actual face among all the masked men.

He was caucasian, with light brown hair. His eyes were grey and his face seemed too wrinkled for someone with such a physical job. She belatedly realized that he was talking and she couldn't hear a word he said as he shook her shoulder roughly.

"Hey - I asked you a question! Are you hurt?"

She slowly shook her head, earning a nod from him as he left her side to join the rest of the men shooting at the monster fighting back.

No, not monster. That was her sister. _Her sister._ Why her sister? Why not someone else?

She shook her head again at the thought. No, no one deserved this. She was just a little girl, barely thirteen years old. Now she was a giant spider-monster _thing_ being shot at by two dozen adults in battle suits!

At that thought, it finally hit Rebecca that they were _shooting at her sister_ , and she would _not_ under any circumstances let them kill her and _that was final._ The man from earlier was too far from her now, but she saw another maskless man and, ignoring the fact that she couldn't stop shaking, ran up to him.

He paused as she put a hand on his arm, instinctively letting his eyes quickly look over her body, but immediately bringing them back to hers. He was blonde and tan. Had a scar on his eye. It looked new.

"Miss, I'm gonna need you to step aside. This is dangerous work and-"

"What are you going to do to her?" she interrupted, not caring about the danger of the situation.

He bit the inside of his cheek, knowing from firsthand experience how difficult it was to see a loved one turn into one of these monsters. "Our protocol is 'kill or contain', Miss. So that's what we're going to do."

She bit her lip. "That...that's my little sister. Do I have _any_ say? Please, you...you _can't_ kill her. _Please._ "

The soldier sighed, grabbing Rebecca's arm and pulling her off to the side and further away from the battle. "Look - it's not my decision. If we can knock it out without killing it, we'll contain it. Otherwise, we have to kill it before it kills us. Do you get me?"

Rebecca frowned in response, looking behind the soldier to analyze her sister's form and the men shooting at it. She lightly shoved him aside to get a better look, earning a gruff exhale as his hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her towards him. "You _cannot_ enter this battlefield. Please let me and my men do our job!"

She shook her head. "The top of her chest and...and her neck. Definitely her neck. Aim a large group of tranquilizers there. Do it _now_."

His eyes widened as she spoke, not used to taking orders from _anyone_ , let alone a woman without so much as a commission. He hesitated, not wanting to follow directions given by a civilian, but felt himself nodding and shoving her aside as he yelled out her demands to his men.

They did as they were told - and Beverly was out like a light within ten seconds of being hit. The blonde soldier left his men to clean up the mess and jogged back to Rebecca.

"How'd you know to do that?" he asked anxiously - hoping there was some trick to fighting these monsters that this woman somehow figured out.

She shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck, still trying to sort out her feelings of the situation. "I-I could just tell from the way she moved that the tranquilizers would be more effective. The skin looked softer and with a cluster of darts someone was bound to hit a vein..."

He nodded as she spoke, putting a hand on her shoulder again. "That's one hell of an eye you've got! Look, this group we're in - it's new. We're called 'Providence'. And we're working to get rid of all this spoiled meat! But it's mostly just muscle, y'know?" He shrugged, chuckling. Rebecca didn't understand what there was to chuckle about. "We could really use more people with brains on our team."

She rolled her shoulder, shoving his hand off of her. "I'm still working on my degree," she replied, not caring that she'd just admitted to being without a job.

His response was simply to pull a card out of his pocket. "Look - your sister's coming with us whether you do or not, so I recommend you do and take a look around."

Turning back towards him, Rebecca frowned deeply. He was right - once Beverly woke up, she'd go back to attacking everything she saw like she did earlier. Without realizing it, she felt her hand reach forward and take the card out of his hand.

He smiled. "Then let's go!"

 **20\. My Inspiration**  
 **:: Rex**

When Caesar first told him about their parents - just little things; their names, what they did, where they were from - Rex was impressed. And happy to know that his parents were the good guys.

Later on, his brother gave him snippets of memories; more information about mom and dad, _exactly_ what they did, why there was such a huge age gap between the two of them, all sorts of things.

They sounded _amazing._ And not too unlike Holiday and Six, whom he had recently stopped denying having a parental affection towards.

Even later, after traveling through time, dealing with Black Knight and the now-evil Caesar - his trip to Abysus was...enlightening. That photograph of his father brought back memories of his own: happy things, like playing with his older brother, coloring pictures of robots, hanging out with Mom and Dad; and the more dramatic...like his accident, his surgery, and eventually the Nanite Event.

Knowing about how they died and their failed attempts to save humanity only strengthened the bond Rex felt with his late parents. With Caesar's apparent betrayal, he had a desperate need to recognize their dedication to doing what was right.


	3. 21-30

Hey guys! Here's the next batch of fics. I think this one is around the same length as the last one, soooo not tooooo short but could be longer. Mostly Holiday or Holix-centric as usual, but there's some Breach fic in here, too. Those ones are a little…experimental, I guess, so I hope you like 'em!

 **21\. Never Again**  
 **:: Six, Holiday :: First in a series of drabbles where Six or Holiday or someone is attacked by an EVO with some** _ **special**_ **abilities! Or something.**

After a long day of fighting EVOs, Six saw one of them, one that had given him a particular amount of trouble for reasons he couldn't explain, being escorted to Dr. Holiday's lab. Out of curiosity, he followed, watching the grunts place the caged EVO down and chat with Holiday for a bit before making their leave.

She looked up as they left, seeing Six, and smiled. "Hey, Six. You need something?"

He shrugged while making his way over to her. "Not particularly. Just wanted to know what you'll be doing with this EVO. It gave me a lot of trouble today."

She smirked. "One of yours, huh?" Moving back to her desk, she shuffled through some papers. "I heard this one has some sort of special ability. Just gonna test a few things, hopefully I won't have to dissect it."

Six raised an eyebrow and stepped in front of the EVO's cage. "Special ability? Well, if you're referring to it being ridiculously _fast_ , I can confirm that. Otherwise I don't remember any-"

As Six was talking, he noticed the EVO breathing very heavily all-of-a-sudden, though he assumed it was something the EVO was just doing...'cause it was an EVO. At the last second, however, Holiday yelled for him to get away from that cage just as the bug-like creature spewed out a liquid-y spray.

With his ninja reflexes, Six _barely_ dodged the spray, though it still got all over his dominant hand. The rest of the spray shot out and hit the ceiling; he immediately noticed that after a few seconds there was _nothing there._ The ceiling looked normal and the liquid was gone.

Holiday rushed over to the agent, grabbing his arm and trying to observe his hand without touching it. "God, Six...are you okay? Does it hurt at all? No burning or itching or anything like that?"

Unsurprised by her concerned reaction, he shrugged. "Just a bit cold. It doesn't hurt, though."

She bit her bottom lip. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Could be something that'll hurt you later or-!" She sighed. "This isn't exactly how I wanted to test the EVO's powers."

Six rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. Realistically, he _should_ be pretty worried, but it was only his hand and so far it didn't feel any different. In fact, the cold feeling was already gone. It was probably just a saliva spray used to distract during a fight.

He started clenching his hand into a fist and back out again in front of her face. "Look, Holiday, my hand is _fine._ It's probably just the EVO's distraction technique. Nothing to worry about."

She looked up at him and back to his hand a few times and sighed. "I still need you to stay here so I can run some tests."

He made an unsatisfied face at her. Not that he didn't enjoy spending time with her, just...he didn't like being confined to her lab when he might have other things to do. He put his hands on her shoulders to make her look up at him.

" _Holiday._ I'm fine. Nothing's wrong with my hand. I'll leave and you can go back to work." Decidedly finished with her non-response, Six began to lift his hands off of her shoulders.

Well, the one came off, but the other wouldn't budge. He frowned at his hand and pulled again, naturally tugging on her shoulder as well.

She gave him a confused look. "Something wrong?"

He frowned even harder at the realization of just how _wrong_ he was and tugged again. "My..." TUG. "...hand seems to be-" TUG. " _...stuck._ " And another tug.

"Excuse me?"

He brought his other hand back to her other shoulder and started pushing down while he was tugging up; which, rather than be successful, just made her hands reach up and grab both of his. "Six, _what_ are you doing-"

And as she tried to remove her hands, one of them wouldn't budge from around his. She immediately blushed at that - apparently she and Six were _literally_ stuck together. She really hoped neither of them would have to go to the bathroom anytime soon and quickly comm'd for help.

 **22\. Online**  
 **:: Six, Bobo**

"He has a _what?_ "

"A blog, Green Bean. Get with the times, already!"

Bobo pointed to the computer screen - a picture of Rex (obviously taken by himself with an outstretched arm) covering the top left-hand corner. Next to it had the words 'REX'S BLOG' - and Six rolled his eyes at the lack of originality.

"So what is it? Just an...online journal?" Six asked, viciously uncomfortable with the monkey knowing more than him in _any_ subject. But if this was something the public could view at any moment, he needed to be aware of what Rex put on it. Some of the things that Rex knew were classified, even if he...wasn't completely aware of that fact.

"Basically. The kid writes about his day on here and, since he thinks he's a celebrity, waits for people to send him responses and compliments 'n whatnot," Bobo shrugged, hopping out of the computer chair. "Don't make much sense, if you ask me."

Six took the seat instead and started to scroll down the page. "Me neither. He doesn't talk about Providence, does he?"

"Not much. But he _does_ talk about you 'n the Doc. And Noah, me, White Knight..."

Six sighed. Then he _would_ have to go through all this to make sure Rex didn't say anything _stupid._ He didn't like hearing about Rex's day when the kid _spoke_ , now he had to _read_ about it? Maybe he could just tell Dr. Holiday and _she'd_ take care of it.

Unfortunately, just as that bright idea came to mind, Six's eyes stopped at the beginning of an unfortunate paragraph.

 _"The Doc looked soooooo hot today, you wouldn't believe it! I know she did something different this morning, but I don't know what. I tried asking Six, but he pretended not to notice, as usual. He'll never win her over that way, while my charms are slowly starting to work!"_

Six frowned. No, Dr. Holiday would definitely not appreciate being forced to read this, either. The agent sighed again, looking back to ask the monkey another question, but Bobo was already gone. Probably warning Rex to remove anything inappropriate from his page.

Cradling his already-pulsing headache, Six moved the mouse to the side of the screen and started to read.

 **23\. Failure**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

Lately, everything she did seemed to boil down to one, single, motivational phrase:

 _Failure is not an option._

Of course it wasn't an option. People were depending on her, not that they even knew who she was, to save their lives. Usually this just referred to her near-successes with working on the cure for incurables or the fact that she was one of very few people who Rex actually listened to, but _this_ time she needed to work faster. People weren't mutating, they were falling into comas. Everywhere. Every _one._ Everyone with inactive nanites, anyway.

And that included Six and herself.

Most people were just dropping like flies - Rex flew back to headquarters when Noah and a couple other guys passed out in the middle of their basketball game. As soon as he arrived, however, half of Providence was already down...and Six barely had time to think before he followed.

As he fell, Holiday reached out to catch him, awkwardly landing on her knees as the drowsiness started to hit her as well. " _Rex,_ " she said quickly. " _I need you to get something for me._ "

And she'd been awake ever since - otherwise it'd just be White Knight and a bunch of EVOs and she knew she couldn't let that happen. Rex and White already didn't get along, without herself or Six to supervise, who knew what could happen?

At that thought, she knew she needed to check on Six again, make sure he was still breathing and there weren't any side effects to whatever was happening. Plus she...just needed to see him.

It was strange, having never seen him asleep before, and suddenly she couldn't get him to wake. Out of respect, Holiday had left his sunglasses on while she wasn't looking at his pupils...Six would appreciate that, if he were at all aware of what was going on. And she wondered, over and over again: _was_ he aware? Could he hear? If everything turned out okay, would he remember?

She thought about this over and over again as she stared down at his face. Her hand reached forward and hovered above his cheek...unsure of what exactly she wanted to do. The doctor bit her lip as tears pricked her eyes - she would _not_ cry, not even _think_ about crying so long as Six was still breathing.

And he _was._ And he was still _here_ and everything would be okay. But she...she felt an urge to say something. Maybe he _could_ hear and maybe he _would_ remember, but she wouldn't regret anything she'd say, so what did it matter?

"Six," she started, laying her palm on his forehead. "...I don't know if you can hear this. I don't even know what I'm doing. It's probably the lack of sleep talking, honestly," she continued, struggling to chuckle in between sentences. "But I-...I really do appreciate all you've done for Rex and...and for me. For everyone. I know you don't like to think so, but you're really a great guy and..."

Holiday knew some tears had escaped, and she reached up with her other hand to brush away the tears. This was so stupid. "...I love you, Six, _so_ much – you probably already know and just haven't wanted to say anything, but...I just. In case we don't make it...I needed to say that."

The tears had mostly subsided and Holiday leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead where her hand had been. She felt stupid, cliché even, but she also felt...lifted. At least, if they really did die here, she'd go out knowing she hadn't kept that to herself.

 **24\. Rebirth**  
 **:: Van Kleiss**

He'd never been dead.

A man...an EVO...nay, a _being_ such as himself could not possibly be _dead._ He was Michael Van Kleiss! He was the ruler of Abysus! He commanded EVOs far and wide to do his bidding! He led armies into battle with his strength, but could calculate the most difficult of mathematical equations. He was unstoppably powerful and brilliant.

He. Could not. Die.

While stuck in that empty void, unable to breathe, to speak, to move...he could _think._ And he thought about what he would do when he returned, and what he would say to those who helped to free him. Because he would, undoubtedly, get free. Abysus would not survive without Van Kleiss there to keep it safe. Biowulf and Skalamander and Breach and Circe...none of them would survive - _Rex_ would not survive, after long.

Van Kleiss was necessary to keep the world in balance. He was needed for not just the balance of good vs evil that Rex claims is so fervent and obvious like the child he is - but also to keep the nanites in Abysus from going berserk. From destroying the world.

His body was reforming. He could feel an immense pain as his senses were coming back. He could smell the earth, hear Rex's scream, taste the smoke in the air, feel the grime floating around them...and finally, he could see again. See that he was back where he belonged and had the perfect opportunity to bring Rex to his side.

He was back. And he would never, _ever_ die.

 **25\. Breaking Away**  
 **:: Circe**

She always thought it would be more difficult.

Being with The Pack for so long - Breach, Biowulf, Skalamander, Van Kleiss - they were the first people to find her since The Event. They were the first people to take her in and give her a home. And sure, she didn't agree with everything they did...but they were practically _family._ And Van Kleiss had the EVOs of the world's interests in mind, so she couldn't complain.

When they'd first met, Rex asked her to come with him to Providence. _Providence_ , the organization that went around grabbing EVOs from their homes and dissecting them. Sometimes just killing them for the sake of "science". Everyone knew about Providence. EVOs feared Providence. The ones that could still understand, anyways. She still remembered what Rex said.

 _"Come to Providence. They could use you."_

He might've been comfortable being a weapon, but she wasn't. It wasn't a life she could live. And if that meant fighting against him was her only other option – then she'd do it.

So when they met again...when she realized she couldn't fight against Rex any longer; Van Kleiss was crazy, she knew that, but she thought she understood what he wanted from Rex. She couldn't take it anymore so betrayal was the only way out.

And then she was scared. Once again, she was going to be by herself. She wasn't going to go to Providence. She couldn't go back to Van Kleiss. She'd just have to wander and go where the wind took her.

And then he mentioned Hong Kong. Never been to Hong Kong - she'd heard it was a hotspot for sentient EVOs. But it was also dangerous and filled with crime. But...if Rex recommended it, maybe he knew someone.

Maybe she could find a _new_ family.

 **26\. Forever and a Day**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

"It's really just a scratch, Doctor," Six sighed, rolling his eyes as Holiday moved to clean the cut on his forehead. His sunglasses were sitting next to him on the table and he couldn't stop himself from glancing down at them every few seconds - he felt _naked_ without them.

Holiday mimicked him and rolled her eyes in response, wiping a wet cloth over the cut. "It's pretty deep, Six. Could get infected."

As she moved her hand down, Six reached out and grabbed the cloth out of her hands, dabbing his forehead roughly. "It's not going to get infected. I just need-"

He was interrupted by a sudden buzzing and a very faint rendition of a song he was _pretty sure_ was called "Single Ladies," judging by the lyrics, anyway. He raised an eyebrow.

Holiday's eyes widened and she quickly reached down into her labcoat pocket. She rarely got calls on her cell, and since Rex was asleep...there were only a few people who might be calling her.

"It's...my mother?" She glanced up at Six and smiled apologetically. "This'll just be a second."

He shrugged as the doctor pressed a button and held the phone up to her ear.

"Mom?"

 _"Rebecca! How are you?"_

"I'm...fine. Is everything okay?"

 _"Yeah, yeah! Just wanted to hear from my little girl is all!"_

"Oh. Well, yes, everything's the same as always."

 _"Everything? No new projects? New places you've been? A new boyfriend, maybe?"_

Holiday felt herself blush at her mother's words and quickly turned away from Six, crossing her free arm over her chest. " _No_ , Mom, nothing new!"

Six raised an eyebrow at the doctor's reaction and, despite his usual care to stay out of Holiday's private life, was curious enough to listen into the conversation.

 _"What about that Six fellow you told me about? He hasn't made a move yet?"_

Six raised an eyebrow. She'd told her mother about him?

"N-no, Mom! I said _nothing_ , I meant _nothing!_ " Holiday squeaked, hoping to whatever power might be listening that Six couldn't hear any of this. "Did you just call to harass me about my lack of a social life?"

 _"Alright, you caught me! But you know, Sweetie, you're not getting any younger!"_

"I'm aware."

 _"This Six guy must be verrryy handsome for you to wait_ _ **so long**_ _for him to-"_

"Mother! It's not-! It's-! Just...just don't worry about it, alright?"

 _"Fine, fine! I can tell you're busy - I'll get off the phone..."_

"Great, Mom. I'll talk to you later."

 _"Bye Sweetie! Just remember, if showing interest doesn't get his attention, showing interest in another guy definitely will!"_

" _Goodbye, Mother!"_ Holiday finished a little louder than she'd wanted to - huffing as she pressed the 'End Call' button. That woman could be...so nosy!

Six smirked at the bit of the conversation he'd heard. Holiday's interest in him was not a surprise, but her mother knowing about it definitely _was._ He briefly wondered what else she'd told her mother (parents, even?) about him or Rex until she turned around and glared at him.

"Sorry about that," she said, sighing, and grabbed the cloth back from him. Inspecting the cut, she saw that it wasn't bleeding anymore and tossed the cloth into a nearby sink.

"She sounded very concerned."

Holiday blushed. "W-What? You could hear her?"

He shrugged in response, holding back a smirk. "Some of it."

"W-well, I honestly don't know where she gets some of those ideas of hers," she started, turning around to wash off that cloth. After a moment, she realized it would need to be thrown out anyways...but washing was a good distraction. "She just comes up with things!"

Six finally let himself smirk now that Holiday wasn't facing his way, and hopped off the table. He pressed a hand to the cut and looked at it - no blood, time to go - and reached out to put his sunglasses back on. "I don't know what you're talking about, Dr. Holiday."

She turned to look at him. "...well, then. Nevermind. Just forget I said anything," she said, blushing even further at her stupidity. Why ramble like that without knowing what he heard?

Still smirking, Six paused for a second, considering a whole bunch of lines he could use to embarrass Dr. Holiday further. After a moment, however, he decided to leave it at that. Her mother seemed to have done enough.

 **27\. Lost and Found**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

He'd noticed, after only a few days of being Rex's co-caretaker with her, that Holiday disappeared at the same time every day, walking in the same direction down the hallway. She was always carrying a tranquilizer dart gun, on Friday she had an extra one with her, and her face was always very melancholy as she made her way to whatever destination she had in mind.

Naturally, Six needed to know what was going on. On Monday, when he noticed her walking with that look on her face that she always had, he immediately started following at a reasonable distance. Sure - it may look stalker-y or creepy to anyone who didn't understand his intentions, but Six never really cared what other people thought about him.

Turning the corner, he saw her headed towards the Petting Zoo. That would explain the tranquilizer gun - though not anything else. He briefly wondered if there was a specific reason she brought a spare on Friday - hopefully she didn't get into any trouble with the EVOs the Thursday prior.

As she opened the door and took a few steps inside, Six quickly slid in, not wanting to alert the doctor of his presence. He watched with concern as she shot at EVO after EVO; he was confident she could handle herself, but he was still uncomfortable in seeing her try to fight off so many dangerous creatures.

He continued to follow her, careful to be as quiet as possible, and noticed she was heading in the direction of The Hole. He knew about The Hole, simply because it was something soldiers often talked about as something weird and unheard of otherwise; there was apparently an EVO inside that was ridiculously dangerous and unstable. White usually had those EVOs terminated or experimented on.

He saw Holiday press a few numbers into the keypad – 0930 - that he quickly memorized for potential future use. She stepped inside and he stepped to the door, not making it there until it'd already mostly closed. He decided that, in discovering she was safe, he didn't need to continue following. Though he stayed outside the door, peering in once in a while to see what she was doing.

She seemed to just be...talking. To a very thick door. He expected her to look as sad as she'd been on the way there, but she seemed like she was having a normal conversation. Almost as if she was just talking about her day. Though he was pretty sure there was no one talking back.

As it seemed like she was finishing up, Six hid himself again, and decided that Holiday could handle herself in coming to the Hole. Naturally, he was curious of what the doctor's connection to this EVO was, but he wasn't about to ask. He'd find out eventually.

 **28\. Dark**  
 **:: Breach**

No family. No friends. No nothing.

She didn't mind, she had her dolls - her dollhouse, her prized possession - and she had her job. All she had to do was clean floors. It wasn't fun, but she got paid and with money she could keep her dolls. That's all she wanted.

She stopped going to school years ago. People there didn't understand her. They made fun of her, calling her "creepy" and "crazy" - it was no wonder she didn't have any friends. No one wanted to be her friend and she didn't want to be theirs. Her dolls were her friends.

Her mom and dad never existed. She was raised in an orphanage among so many other kids. She might've been "friends" with them then. But it didn't last. When they forced her and her "friends" to start going to public school, her "friends" found new people. They left her behind. She didn't care. She had her dolls.

When she decided she didn't want to go to school anymore, she was kicked out of the orphanage. Only thirteen. She still found work. She managed. She found pity and that was fine. Pity on her and pity on her obsession. She didn't care what anyone else thought. She still had her dolls.

Things were fine. Everything was fine. She was fine. Her dolls were fine.

Then one day, things stopped being fine. It was called the "Nanite Event." She didn't understand what it was. TVs in the windows of stores called it a "nightmare" and said that people were "mutating." She still didn't understand. But people, _everywhere_ , people were running and screaming.

There were monsters, sometimes. She could see them through her apartment window. People would continue running and screaming. Sometimes they would break into stores and steal expensive items - blame it on the "EVOs." She didn't understand the point. But she didn't care. Her dolls weren't expensive or valuable. No one would go after them.

The next day, she walked home from work. She noticed, down a dark alleyway, an EVO ripping someone to pieces. She ran until she was on her apartment's street. She saw fire. She kept running.

The entire apartment building was burning. An EVO…or more like a _monster_ …towered above it - _flying_ , _breathing fire_ , _how was that even possible?_ \- looking triumphant and flapping its wings. She looked to where her apartment was - it was high up. But she needed her dolls. She'd die for those dolls.

She ran into the building. The flames were getting bigger and hotter. She ran up the stairs as other people ran down, telling her to follow them, _where do you think you're going?_ , and she ignored them. She needed her dolls.

She reached her room. It was hot. She kicked down the door, unable to grab the handle. All the structure in the building was already very weak. She didn't have much time. She was probably going to die.

She spotted her dolls, covered in flames. They were partly melted, some of their faces gone, some feet or hands. All the clothes had disintegrated. She tried to pick them up - they were _burning._ She tried again. The dolls were practically gone.

The fire was getting bigger, _surrounding her._ She was going to die.

She didn't mind. The dolls were dying. She would die too.

And then all she could feel was a horrible pain from within - she screamed, and everything went black.

 **29\. Light**  
 **:: Breach :: Continuation of 28. Dark**

It was _amazing_. This power, this ability. She could travel anywhere she wanted. Anytime she wanted to go. She'd never thought about traveling before, but she had nothing else to do anymore. Her dolls were gone, her home was gone, she had nothing to work for, no reason to stay.

But with these powers, she didn't want to die. She could be so happy. She could get new dolls. _More_ dolls. Better dolls.

People knew, upon looking at her, that she was an EVO. She a second pair of arms, and they were _gigantic_ and disgusting, according to the people around her. She still didn't care what they thought.

Though that didn't stop them from being _loud_. They yelled at her, told her to go away. They didn't know what she could do. They thought she might hurt them. They didn't know she _could_ hurt them.

She had been traveling constantly. She didn't know what town she was in. It was small. The people saw her and stared, but they weren't loud. They didn't yell at her. She liked that. She liked them.

She wondered briefly if she could keep them. Keep this place. She wanted it to herself.

She'd recently discovered, while going through her portals, that there was a sort of…inter-dimension. It wasn't a place. It was between places. The purgatory of her portals. She smiled.

Returning to that town she liked so much, she glanced at a sign. _Greenville, Ohio._ It sounded nice. She liked it. She liked it a lot. It was her new dollhouse. It was perfect. And all of her dolls, they continued on with their day. They weren't loud and didn't bother her. They were perfect.

She lifted her arms, both sets of them, into the air. This was going to be her biggest portal. Her biggest attempt. She'd already sent a few random items into her self-made dimension. She knew it would work.

And it did. The people there didn't even notice the change. They just continued going about their day. They were still her dolls and they were still perfect. She could watch them from wherever she was. Her dolls were so _perfect._

She loved these powers. She loved her new dolls and her new dollhouse. Everything was perfect.

 **30\. Faith**  
 **:: Holiday, Fell**

He was, for lack of a better word, an asshole.

Dr. Fell, motivated by a combination of money and scientific curiosity, seemed to lack the ability to grasp how this apocalyptic event was affecting the people around him. He just wanted to molecularly disassemble every EVO they could find. She was outraged, knowing that _human beings_ were being torn apart by mutations they couldn't control, only to be captured and torn apart again.

Fortunately, her anger and efforts led to the creation of Providence's Petting Zoo – where mutated humans would be placed instead of being sent to the disassembly chamber. Now they only disassembled bugs, plants, and the occasional animal…but Holiday still didn't like it.

Fell _enjoyed_ disassembling these mutants, and she could see and hear the comments from the soldiers hunting them, they enjoyed it, too. Sure, she wouldn't deny a scientific fascination towards everything that was happening…but she had Beverly to worry about.

Apparently none of these men had anyone close to them mutate. She _hoped_ they didn't, because no rational human being could continue hunting these things knowing that their mother or child or… _sister_ was one of them.

" _Dr. Holiday!_ "

She turned around quickly, staring up at Dr. Fell's frowning face.

"Prepare for disassembly."

Nodding hesitantly, Holiday started typing.


	4. 31-40

Hey guys! Sorry I forgot to upload this earlier. But, uh, quick warning, some of these are kinda dirty :'D Haha actually the last one is just porn. So if you're not into that, there's warnings, so watch out!

 **31\. Colors**  
 **:: Six, Buchiner**

Only Holiday approved of it. White couldn't legally argue with her logic, and Six knew it was best to just go with what she says in cases like these.

Rex would go to Noah's high school every once in a while - not as a fulltime student, sure, but once or twice a week, but the interaction was healthy for a kid his age, and you never know - something there could spark a memory. It was a good idea.

Six explained that it'd be frustrating to have to get Rex out of _school_ so he can fight EVOs. Holiday explained that if Rex is in school, they'd actually know where he is, which is better than usual.

It was true. And White, despite his attempts, couldn't deny the kid somewhat of an education. He may have been a weapon, but he was still a teenager. Recently, he'd come to terms with that. Holiday often complained about how pathetic it was that it took him so long to get it through his head.

So today was the first time Rex was at school, and the EVO alarm went off. Six immediately got ready, a couple dozen soldiers in tow, and as they went to hold off the EVO, Six made his way to Benjamin Franklin High School.

When he walked in the building, he was immediately stopped by a faculty member. At least their security had _that_ much.

"I need to get Rex. ...Rex Salazar. He's got an EVO to take care of."

The teacher blinked, made a face, and nodded, pointing to the attendance office.

Six responded with a curt nod, made his way to the office, discovered where Rex was, and made his way to the classroom to get him. As he stepped inside the room, everyone immediately looked over at him.

"Oh, hey Six!" Rex responded, waving.

The older man resisted rolling his eyes and instead pointed behind him with his thumb. "We've gotta go."

As Rex started packing up his stuff, Six finally noticed that a lot of the other students kept glancing between himself and the teacher. Out of curiosity, he looked over at the professor standing in the front of the class.

He was wearing a green suit. Six frowned and quirked an eyebrow.

Professor Buchiner was also returning a suspicious glare.

Rex walked towards Six, ready to go, and as he shut the door, the ninja couldn't help himself:

"Nice suit."

 **32\. Exploration**  
 **:: Six, Rex, Holiday, Bobo**

Rex stuck his head out the door and quickly looked around - left, right, up, straight, left.

"Okay, coast is clear! Let's go!"

He quickly hopped out of the room, a bundle of fabric in his hands, Bobo right behind him with a few similar items in his arms. As they headed down the hallway, obviously in the direction of Rex's closet-sized bedroom, Rex stopped and huddled against the wall.

 _Voices._ One of them female and familiar! Bobo and Rex shared a frightened expression and took off at breakneck speed in the opposite direction. Multiple times, the thirteen-year-old EVO attempted to activate his Boogie Pack, only to leave crumbling metal behind him.

"Just keep runnin', Kid, don't focus on what won't work!" Bobo said, taking the lead. Rex nodded in response and picked up the pace.

Rex was so busy concentrating on his feet that he didn't notice the figure standing ahead of him until it was too late. His body slammed into Six's legs and the kid fell painfully back on to his butt.

"And _what_ exactly are you two running from?"

Bobo had stopped, not wanting to face Six's wrath, but feeling obligated to stay by Rex since this was his idea. He and Rex looked at each other, and Rex frowned as Bobo nodded slowly.

Six watched this with a raised eyebrow - these two usually didn't have a contingency plan. What were they going to do? Keep running?

Before the agent could open his mouth, loud footsteps were heard coming from around the other side of the hall, and Rex and Bobo threw the garments they were carrying at Six before taking off. Not expecting the fabric assault, Six didn't think to go after them, instead dropping most of the clothing to the floor and taking an offending article off the top of his head to get a better look at it.

It was lacy, green underwear.

Glancing at the articles on his shoulders and the floor, he realized that this was... _all_ underwear. And bras. And he didn't have to guess to figure out who they belonged to. And as he turned around to see if Rex and Bobo were in his line of sight, Six was interrupted by a squeaking voice.

"What the-?! Six! What the _hell?_ "

He turned around to see Dr. Holiday, a very scandalized expression on her face, staring directly at the panties still in his hand. Realizing this, Six quickly dropped them and grabbed the ones on his shoulders, dropping them into the pile at his feet as well.

"Rex and Bobo threw these at me."

Her face already red, Holiday scowled and bent down to pick up her underwear. "What, did they take the _entire drawer?!_ "

Six didn't say anything, and he _definitely_ didn't offer to help. This was awkward.

As she gathered them into her arms, she turned to the agent and pointed a finger to his chest. "You are giving Rex the talk. _Now._ And I want that monkey in a _cage._ "

Still red in the face, she huffed off in the direction of her room, leaving Six to deepen his frown at the thought of talking to Rex about the birds and the bees. Or maybe for him it'd be the birds, bees, and machines? Holiday should be handling this, not him.

About to leave, Six glanced down at the floor and noticed Holiday had accidentally left behind one of her...garments. He reached down to pick it up and realized it was the lacy green pair he'd originally seen.

He briefly wondered how long she'd owned lacy, green underwear...then stopped, blushed, shook his head for thinking about it, and headed in the direction of her room to make sure she had it. Rex was going to be in _big_ trouble for this.

 **33\. Seeing Red**  
 **:: Holix :: Second in my EVOs-attacking-Six-and-slash-or-Holiday series! This one's rated M or T or whatever. Let's go with T. There's no sex, okay?**

He had a tendency to take hits he didn't need to.

Holiday had become hyperaware of this _problem_ of Six's recently - he'd been coming back from missions with more scrapes and bruises than he used to. After questioning Rex, the kid said it was all in an effort to protect innocent civilians. As much as the doctor could appreciate the sentiment, she was not a fan of Six trying to kill himself for the sake of others.

So it was safe to say that she specifically told him to _avoid_ injury for as long as possible - and as Six always did, he responded with a gruff, nonresponsive noise that Holiday rolled her eyes at.

The next time she saw him, Six had obviously ignored her demand and came to her in the lab with a large bruise on his forehead. The doctor looked up from the EVO she'd been observing to see Six walking her way, and she scowled.

"What did I tell you, Six?!"

He scowled. "It's not like I'm getting injured on _purpose_ , Doctor. I just came by to let you know that White called me off duty for the rest of the day."

That made her freeze. "W-what? Why? How injured _are you?_ "

Six lifted an arm and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just bruising. I'll be fine in the morning."

As Holiday opened her mouth to protest again, Six's instincts went off and he noticed the caged EVO that Holiday had been working on open its mouth. Specifically, it opened its mouth _way_ too wide to be just breathing or making noise. It was definitely going to attack. Going to attack _Holiday._

Practically on reflex, Six jumped forward and shoved Holiday out of the way - only to find himself quickly covered in a pink, gooey liquid that drenched his skin and suit. Holiday shrieked at the sight and pressed a button next to the EVO's cage - shutting it into an extra-sealed lock - and ran back to Six in urgency.

" _God_ , Six, are you alright? In pain? How do you feel?"

He scowled down at the fading color and shrugged off his ruined jacket. "I feel like I'm covered in EVO spit."

She let out an obviously held breath. "No pain? Even just a tingling sensation, _please_ tell me. We weren't even aware that that EVO had any...spitting defenses."

Six looked up at the doctor and, sensing her worry, and clenched his fists a few times to be sure. "I...don't feel any different. Honestly."

Still wearing gloves from her earlier observations, Holiday quickly grabbed Six's hand and pulled him to a nearby table. "Just sit. I'd at least like to check you out."

He followed her instructions, but Six's mind seemed to... _hold on to_ what she just said. _Check him out_ , hm? She did check him out on regular occasions. Since she was very clearly into him. He frowned. Where had those thoughts come from?

Holiday grabbed Six's sunglasses and put them next to him, quickly turning around to grab some basic tools for her inspection. As she bent over to grab the items, Six found himself _ogling_ her rear.

Not that he wasn't already aware of her curves, but suddenly she just seemed...even more enticing than usual. Six continued staring even as she stood up and starting organizing herself. And once she turned around, he found himself staring down at her boobs.

Those were nice, too. He wondered if they felt as nice as they looked.

Holiday, in her usual obliviousness, looked up at Six's face and didn't notice the direction of his eyes, but when she glanced down for a moment, her eyes caught sight of something _else_ that made her squeak and drop the instruments. She quickly turned her side to Six and blocked her eyes from looking at him with one hand.

"U-um...Six, I think you've, um..." she stuttered, and Six thought it was very cute. Maybe even sexy? But stuttering wasn't something he'd ever found sexy before. Maybe anything on Holiday was just hot to him.

"I've what?" he asked, not sure where she was going with this.

Without saying anything, Holiday groaned in embarrassment and pointed to Six's crotch. Before following her fingers, he noticed her face was very, very red. Six looked down.

Ah. He was...clearly very hard. And very horny. And so he grabbed his sunglasses and hopped down from the table, making sure to stay at least a few feet away from the doctor.

"Is it safe to assume that this is the EVO's fault?" he asked awkwardly, tugging at his collar. Christ, this was...just uncomfortable for everybody.

She nodded, still covering her face. Technically, it wasn't all that safe to assume. But she was going to assume. Because...he seemed fine. Better than usual. He seemed pretty big, too.

Six quickly headed out the door and put some ugly images in his head to try and bring himself down. Unfortunately, Holiday and her butt and her boobs and her face and her _body_ kept popping back up and he realized that his own hand and an extremely cold shower were his only way to get out of this still sane.

He slammed his door on the way into his apartment - knowing this next week was going to be _frustrating._ Maybe he should just forget covering for people when they didn't necessarily need it. Though, if _Holiday_ had been hit by that, this day might've turned out a bit differently...

 **34\. Shades of Grey**  
 **:: Rex, Holiday**

"Hey, Doc!" Rex strolled up to the older woman, who'd been reading on a break room couch. "Whatcha readin'?"

Immediately, the book closed, and she plopped the paperback onto her lap; Rex unable to make out the cover with her hands over top. "Oh, Rex! Hi! Um-reading? ...right, uh, nothing much! Just something that was in the top sellers...thought I'd check it out..."

Rex raised an eyebrow. She was acting weird. "Oh? What's it about?"

Her face turned slightly red. "Um...it's...uh, it's a, uh, just a romance novel kind of thing. You wouldn't be interested."

His eyebrow was still up. If it was _just a romance novel kind of thing_ , why was she freaking out? "Oh. So...is it good?"

Her fingers started clacking on the book cover. "Well it's, um, not the best _writing_ , but it's...very interesting. Hard to put down, I suppose."

"Uh huh..." Rex responded, barely listening. He was trying to figure out a subtle way to grab it from her so he could see what the big deal was.

"...yeah, so, um..." She placed the book, cover faced down, on the seat next to her. "Did you need something?"

Rex just saw his opening. Holding in a smirk, he shrugged at the doctor. "Not really, just wanted to see what you were up to...!" He jumped over the couch, grabbing the book and rolling on the other side. "Ha! Got it!"

She squeaked, face red, and immediately reached for the book. "Rex! Give that back immediately!"

" _'50 Shades of Grey'_?" Rex said with a confused tone. "Uh..." He flipped open to a random page and started reading. He even activated his Boogie Pack to get away from the doc's grabbing hands.

After less than a minute, he shut the book, face red, and came back down to the ground.

Holiday's face was equally red. She wanted to explain herself, but...what could she _say?!_ "Uh, Rex...it's, um..."

Rex looked up at Dr. Holiday and immediately reddened again. "I, uh...I should go."

"Ah...um..." She covered her forehead with a hand. "It's really from the top reading list! I was just checking it out!"

Rex ran out the door. "Yeah okay! You do that!"

She watched him leave, and quickly slumped back on to the couch. She _knew_ she shouldn't have read this stupid book outside her room. Hopefully Rex didn't tell anyone else, like Bobo or White or...or Six... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The doctor whined a bit before running back to her room. She needed to hurry up and finish this book so she could _burn it!_

 **35\. Forgotten**  
 **:: Kenwyn, Callan**

"Pardon the question, Sir, but...did you say _collar?_ "

"Yes, ma'am," Callan responded, handing the younger officer one of their new prototypes. "These collars are gonna be attached to every EVO that we can find. Keeps 'em calm."

Kenwyn took the object and turned it around in her hand. "Every EVO, Sir?"

Captain Callan rolled his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Orders say every EVO. Doesn't matter what they're doing, where they are, or how they act. We're collaring 'em."

She stared at the collar and saluted her superior officer. "Yes, Sir."

Saluting back, Callan closed his eyes as the soldier in front of him started to walk away with a clearly frustrated look on her face. He understood the feeling. This was _wrong._ This was...more than wrong. It was one step closer to _genocide._ He didn't like EVOs any more than the next guy, but he knew there were plenty of people like Rex who could control their abilities and didn't deserve to be locked up.

But with this new order under Black Knight, those sentient EVOs would just be piled with the rest of them. The ones like Dr. Holiday's sister would be slammed together with the ones like Rex. It was ridiculous. And he wasn't going to stand for it.

Turning around, Callan decided it was time to have a talk with Agent Six and Dr. Holiday. They clearly weren't going to stay around much longer, and he wanted to help.

 **36\. Dreamer**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

Though he usually preferred not to stay up so late, Rex had gotten himself into trouble at some stupid teenage party he went to with Noah, and Six had to go fetch him and put him to bed.

And now it was almost 4 AM and Six couldn't fall asleep. Of _course._ At least Rex was finally down for the night, and having not heard from Holiday or White, he had to assume they'd gone to bed as well.

Deciding he needed some good coffee, since sleep definitely wasn't happening, Six made his way towards Holiday's lab which, fortunately for her, had the fastest coffee machine at Headquarters and the best tasting coffee. Since he knew all of her entrance codes, it was fortunate for him, too.

As the door slid open, Six didn't even bother to look around as he skulked straight towards the coffee area. He quickly put everything together and turned on the water heater. He opted to stare at it, hoping the water would heat up faster.

After a moment, there was a strange noise behind him and he quickly turned around, almost reaching for his swords out of habit. He immediately calmed at seeing Dr. Holiday sprawled out on the couch behind him.

Though that begged the question – how the hell had he missed her? Was he really that tired? As she mumbled a bit and smiled dreamily in her sleep, he figured maybe he should skip the coffee and try to sleep after all. His judgment seemed _way_ off.

The agent moved his hand to turn off the coffee maker when he heard a soft " _Six…_ " from behind him.

"Holiday?" he asked, not turning around. He felt bad knowing that he'd woken her up. After a moment when she still didn't respond, he turned around to raise an eyebrow at her, only to discover that she still looked very much asleep.

Had he just imagined her saying his name? He _really_ needed sleep. With the coffee maker now turned off, Six stared at Holiday for a moment – looking very uncomfortable on that lumpy couch – and considered grabbing her a blanket or something before heading off to bed.

There weren't any blankets in here…and he knew it'd take a ridiculous amount of time to go to his room, grab one, and come all the way back here…but she did look _very_ uncomfortable…

She suddenly rolled onto her back and let out a short giggle and a quiet, " _Stop that…_ "

He raised an eyebrow. Since when did Holiday talk in her sleep? Though, realistically, he hadn't seen her sleeping too often before, so perhaps she sleep-talked when she was very tired. That made sense.

Since she seemed to be having a happy dream, he felt no guilt in leaving her without a blanket. Six started to walk away, when...

" _Six..._ " Another giggle. " _Stop..._ "

He paused, staring at her. So she _had_ said his name. And...she seemed very happy about him being in her dream. Which was strange, considering she kept telling him to 'stop'. A playful, non-serious kind of 'stop', then? What would he be doing that would make her-?

...right. There were a lot of possibilities that he'd be better off not thinking about. If he kept watching her do _this_ , he'd waste more time before bed needing a _cold shower._ Better to just leave. And as he was about to turn to do so, Holiday rolled just a bit, so that her back was facing out, and Six became hyperaware of how bunched up her skirt had gotten in her sleep. He could...practically see her...

Six quickly headed out the door back towards his room. She definitely needed that blanket.

 **37\. Mist**  
 **:: Circe**

Not again, _not again!_

She'd experienced this only once before. The city was the same as she remembered it – creepy, foggy, unpopulated…and what happened to that little blonde girl?

Ugh, _whatever._ It was slightly less creepy without her around. Constantly talking about how "perfect" everything was.

But…last time she was trapped here, it was just punishment. Van Kleiss _made_ Breach let her back out a few hours later. But she'd run away from The Pack, and Breach was just doing this for _fun._ Or to torture Rex. Either way…how was she gonna get out?

Either she'd be dropped at Van Kleiss' doorstep again…or Rex was her only hope.

Considering how he'd been acting lately, neither option sounded very good.

 **38\. Burning**  
 **:: Holiday, Six**

She took a quick turn around the corner of the city street, ducking into a nearby alley as a few black and white soldiers ran by. Pressing a finger to her ear, Holiday took a deep breath before speaking.

" _Six._ My position is compromised. This place is _crawling_ with Providence grunts."

His voice crackled back to her. " _Are there any stores open still? Go hide in one and I'll pick you up from there."_

"It's _one in the morning!_ " she half-yelled in response, not wanted to give away her position even further.

Holiday could practically hear the man's frown. " _There's bound to be a bar open somewhere nearby. Just find one. I'll be there as soon as possible._ "

She sighed as the conversation ended, closing her eyes for only a brief moment. After that, the doctor stood up and quickly scanned the area before peeking her head out of the alley to look for a nearby bar.

Not too far in the distance, she suddenly saw a door open and a sudden flash of light from inside as a few guys walked out. They looked completely hammered. Looks like Holiday found herself an open bar.

She mentally laughed at her own thoughts - she sounded like she was desperate for a drink - and checked to make sure the coast was clear. As soon as that was done, the doctor sprinted towards the door.

Upon arrival, she saw the sign that said "THE OASIS", and shrugged - bars often had weird names. Holiday slowly reached towards the door when she could hear a Providence helicopter hovering somewhere nearby. She hurriedly opened the door and snuck inside, closing it quickly but carefully.

The doctor breathed a sigh of relief and turned around at the feeling of two fingers tapping her shoulder. As soon as her eyes fell on the woman in front of her, she gaped and felt herself turn red.

The girl standing there, wearing only a thong and a lacy bra, put one hand on her hip and the other on her shoulder. "Can I get you anything?"

Dr. Holiday blinked repeatedly as she tried to avoid looking at the girl's... _assets_ , but when she looked up and around the room, there were just _more girls dressed exactly the same_ \- and lots of drunk guys, and...okay, she needed to leave.

"I-um, I'm in the wrong, um-" Holiday stuttered as she turned to re-open the door. Unfortunately, immediately as she did so, her eyes fell upon the three Providence grunts across the small street. She almost thought about making a break for the next road when one of them turned and noticed her. She didn't hesitate before slamming and door closed and turning back to the girl behind her.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

After a moment of going back and forth, Holiday decided that...she could stay here. This wasn't so bad. It was just a strip club, after all - what's the harm in hiding in a strip club? "I'm sure this is an odd request, but I really need a place to hide. Immediately."

The stripper flipped her hair. "Well I'm sorry, but if you're not spending money on girls or drinks, you can't stay here."

Holiday frowned. "I'm _not_ buying a _dance_ , if that's what you mean."

"You could get some drinks."

"No, I really couldn't. I don't have any money on me."

"Alright, then, you...need to leave."

"I-"

"What's going on over here?"

Holiday and the unnamed stripper turned around to see an older woman walking towards them. The stripper's blonde hair smacked Holiday in the face as she turned around. "It's nothing Miss Goldstein, this woman just wants to hide here, but she doesn't have any money so I'm asking her to leave."

The older woman made a face at the stripper before glancing over to Dr. Holiday and looking her up and down. She stepped past the stripper and stopped in front of the doctor. "Roxy, go see what they need at table four. And _you_ , Miss, why are you wanting to _hide_ here?"

Holiday sneered at Roxy as she left and turned towards the woman who was obviously the manager here. "It's complicated, I don't have time to explain. If you could just let me-"

"I'll let you stay here for as long as you need...if you put on one of our outfits and serve the customers," the woman interrupted with a smile. "We have a look don't touch policy, unless the girls offer first, so you have no need to be concerned."

The doctor made a _very_ confused (and somewhat offended) face at the woman in front of her. "I-... _excuse me?_ I'm not going to-"

There was suddenly a violent knock on the door, and Holiday jumped. "A-alright, _fine!_ Just tell me where to go!"

The woman pointed Holiday towards a back room and turned to the door as a few Providence grunts opened it up and walked in. They all looked towards each other, glanced around the room, and left not long after.

* * *

Six glanced down at his GPS, then up at the building in front of him. For some very odd reason, this small, electronic, potentially malfunctioning device thought that Holiday was in _here._

He bit the inside of his cheek and sighed before stepping into the club - obviously double checking to make sure no one was following him. The club was dark, smokey, smelly...pretty much what he expected.

A blonde woman came up to him and put her hands on his chest and shoulder. "Hiya Handsome! Want a dance? For you it's buy one get one free..."

Six closed his eyes for a half second, trying to pretend he wasn't where he actually was, and quickly pulled her hands off of him. "I'm here to pick someone up. She... _should_ be in here, but I don't know _why_ she'd be in here."

The girl put her hands on her hip. This was the _second_ time tonight she had to deal with someone who didn't actually want her - and that made her look bad. Fortunately for Six, though, Roxy knew exactly who he was talking about. "You probably mean "Doc Holly"," she said with air quotes. "She should be handing out drinks back that way."

Six raised an eyebrow at the name - which sounded uncomfortably like a stripper version of "Doctor Holiday" - and followed the girls' finger to a brunette who was serving a drink to an older gentleman seated in front of her.

His immediate reaction was to turn to the blonde, call her an idiot for thinking Six would be after a woman like _that_ , and leave - but then the brunette server turned around and he could clearly see that it was _actually_ Dr. Holiday.

And she was in the skimpiest outfit he could've imagined. Not that he had, or would have...but still.

It was obviously one of those 'sexy nurse' costumes that women wore to Halloween parties in movies all the time. Holiday looked...good in it. Very good. But it wasn't... _her_.

He continued staring for a few more moments until the gentleman reached out and grabbed Holiday's arm, pulling her back to him. And when the man pulled out his wallet, Six felt his feet move by themselves.

"C'mon Holly - I'll pay an extra _hundred_ for you!"

"Look, I am _not_ -"

"Holiday."

The doctor's eyes widened as she turned around slowly - very happy but also extremely embarrassed - to see Six standing right there. She glanced back and forth between Six and the man she'd been serving as an idea came to mind.

She smiled cheekily and pressed a hand against Six's chest. "Sorry, but looks like my regular's here. Gotta go take care of him!" And then she grabbed Six's tie and pulled him to another corner of the room, _far away_ from that ridiculously touchy-feely man.

As soon as they stopped, Holiday turned around and poked a finger into Six's chest. "If you dare say a _word_ about this to _anyone-!_ "

His smirk said everything. "Your regular, huh?"

Her face turned completely red and she covered her face with her hands. "Look, I just-...it was either _this_ or deal with Providence and I just-...I'd just like to go back to base."

Unable to help himself, Six continued smirking. "Can you put some clothes on first? Or do I need to buy us a private room?"

She looked about ready to punch him - but Six couldn't help himself. He hadn't had the opportunity to tease Holiday like this in a _long_ time. As she looked like she was about to curse him out, he adjusted his tie and spoke again. "But...seriously. Why don't you just...get some clothes on? And then we can go and never talk about this again."

She gave Six a raised eyebrow, followed by a relieved smile, and started futzing with her hair. "That's the best idea I've heard all night."

As she started to walk towards the dressing room, Six's eyes couldn't help but follow her all the way there and through the door. He really hoped she would keep that costume. He'd definitely like to see it again.

 **39\. Out of Time**  
 **:: Six**

He'd called everyone he could.

IV, Trey, even _Dos_ , even calling Five again. She made a joke about hearing from him three times in a month after two years of nothing. Six didn't feel bad about it - he was trying to disconnect himself from that life. Normally he wouldn't try to contact any of them.

But he didn't know how else to get his hands around that man's _throat._ Brandon Moses needed to be caught and brought to justice. He needed to give Holiday her money back. He needed to _apologize_ to Dr. Holiday before Six threw him in a jail cell.

He hadn't been this angry in years. Not at anyone besides Rex or Bobo, anyway. And that wasn't the same. This man, this... _idiot;_ manipulative asshole of a scientist...

...somehow got away. And was still not caught. And Six wanted, for than anything, to find him and beat him to the ground. But he was still one of Providence's top agents and he still had things to do. So Six called a few people and slipped money to a few others in an attempt to find Moses.

After a week or two with nothing happening, Six had decided that later that day he was going to take a short vacation from work and go look himself. After all, if you want something done right, gotta do it yourself. This day just so happened to be the day Caesar would reveal his new project that he had gotten Rex all excited about - Six was suspicious, but when it came to Caesar, he was always suspicious.

Moses out of his mind for the moment, Six focused on what was happening in front of him. And when Rex was screaming and the agent reached for his swords, he never would've thought that he'd never catch that idiotic Dr. Brandon Moses.

 **40\. Knowing How**  
 **:: Six, Holiday :: rated M for MMMY GOD CHILDREN SHOULDN'T READ THIS. IT'S PORN.**

" _Six_ ," she started slowly, her lab coat already on the floor and his jacket ready to follow.

He immediately stopped, worried that she had changed her mind. "What?"

She noticed, looking up at him, that he had _that look_ in his eyes when he responded, and she smirked slightly, leaning up and kissing him quickly before sitting back down on the bed and slowly unzipping her boots. For the past week, they'd been having sex almost every night, and though she wasn't _complaining_ , the traditional way of doing things was getting boring. She wanted to mix it up a bit...though she wasn't quite sure how Six would take that.

She pretended not to notice Six's sunglasses-less eyes trace her leg as she carefully removed the boots, kicking them off to the side.

He leaned down, impatient for them to continue, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders while his hands rested on either side of her on the bed.

"I was thinking..." she finally continued, trying to ignore Six's hand slowly making its way up her side. "...we could try something different tonight."

He hoped she couldn't hear the breath he released as she finished speaking. _That_ sounded much better than most other scenarios he'd imagined. "Something different?" He asked, lightly pushing her forward with himself so that her back landed gently on the bed.

Her hands snaked around his neck, tugging on his tie. "Mm...yeah. I'm feeling lazy." She pulled off the tie, rubbing her fingers against the soft fabric as Six raised an eyebrow at the action. "...you know how to tie knots, right?"

He blinked. "Knots?"

Hesitantly, she looked away from him and licked her lips before responding. "You know...tying knots. Maybe...with fabrics like this," She ran her fingers down the length of the tie. "...maybe around...wrists like mine."

She bit her lip, worried that Six would find the suggestion disgusting or disturbing or too weird or maybe he just really wasn't into that and she was totally embarrassing herself in front of the best thing she'd had in years and-

The tie was suddenly gone from her hands and his lips crashed down onto hers. Before she could even think, she felt her shirt being tugged up and over her head, Six's mouth back on hers the moment her shirt was out of the way. She wanted to say he forgot to get her bra, too, and now they'd have to separate again and she really _hated that_ , but he made it obvious he was already aware when his hand quickly crawled under her back and unhooked it, trying his hardest to keep his mouth on hers and only removing it for the split second of her bra being tossed over her head.

He seemed more eager than usual. Maybe even a little _rougher_. She was loving it.

As her hands, in their usual fluid motion, found themselves wrapped around his neck, Six smirked, and willingly removed his lips from hers, smiling in a way that definitely made her ready for whatever he had in store. He grabbed her hands, lifting them above her head, and she couldn't hold back a blush as her wrists were suddenly bound by the familiar fabric of his standard black tie.

"I can't believe you're actually doing this," she said quietly, still out of breath from their heated start to the night's venture.

He tugged on the knot, knowing it was perfectly secured, and leaned back down, his face overtop hers and his hands resting on her ribs. " _You_ suggested it," he teased, leaning in to kiss her on the mouth, but suddenly turning his head away and leaving small pecks along her jaw line instead.

She moaned, just the slightest, and she could feel Six's smirk growing against her neck. His hands snaked up from their spot on her ribs and started rubbing at her breasts, fingers quickly making their way to circle her already erect nipples in opposite directions.

Holiday bit her lip, out of stubbornness not wanting Six to know how much she was loving this. She squirmed under his touch, and his mouth left wet kisses from her neck to that spot right behind her ear that he knew she couldn't ignore.

Once having reached that spot, Six didn't hold back, and Rebecca's reluctant moan, followed by his name in such a _sexy,_ needy voice, brought one hand away from her breast and down to the side of her skirt, where he slowly started to unzip it.

She twitched her arms around, wanting to get the skirt off faster - that, and her favorite activity of unbuttoning his shirt. But _damn_ did Six know how to tie a good knot and she had to settle for squirming more, trying to get him to _go faster_.

He kissed and sucked at _that spot_ a few more times, urging her to moan his name again, and once she did, he sat up slightly, loving the sight of her tightly shut eyes, swollen red lips, and a small amount of sweat already showing up along her neck.

Six took in every inch of her thighs as he slowly - very, _very_ slowly - pulled her skirt down and past her knees, Rebecca eagerly kicking it away when she could. He sat on his knees for a second, admiring the view - Holiday, almost naked, breathing heavily and _completely ready for him_. But she wanted to try something different? He was going to do something different.

Leaning over her again, Rebecca opened her eyes, smiling at her lover in just the way she only did for him. At that, he dipped his hand into her panties, slipping two fingers between her folds and excitedly watched her breath hitch and body twitch upwards.

He continued this for almost a minute, letting his fingers explore and debating whether or not to add a third, when Holiday, her bound hands having come to sit under the back of her head and her back arched higher than he'd ever seen, suddenly spoke. "... _Six..._ " she moaned quietly, earning only a smirk as response, though she wasn't looking.

He thrust his fingers further into her as his face leaned over her ear, letting hot breath tickle her nerves and send her further on edge. "You'll have to speak up, I didn't catch that."

Rebecca bit her lip even harder, not thinking about whether or not she might break the skin, and turned her head so that her lips were in front of his rather than her ear. " _Mm...stop teasing..._ " she moaned, slightly louder, full well knowing he'd ignore her request anyways.

He leaned forward, a hand on the back of her neck, pushing her closer to him, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth, rubbing it roughly against hers and eliciting yet another moan. He definitely hoped she wanted to do this again after the night was over.

Separating from her, Six slowly made his way down, leaving small kisses in a straight line from her chin to her navel; his hands resting at her hips and his fingers under the string of her panties. Making her squirm under a well-placed, warm breath, he pulled down her underwear, Rebecca's own legs working with him and kicking the pair off to who-cares-where.

As she felt him lean down further, she glanced up, letting out a shaky chuckle, and Six paused, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

She laughed a bit. "I...just noticed that you don't even have your shirt off yet, and I'm lying here totally naked." She smirked as best as she could, still trying to hold back her desire for more.

Six initially didn't respond; though he eventually sat up and started unbuttoning. "I'm so used to _you_ taking care of that," he commented, tossing his shirt to the floor, followed by his shoes and socks. _"Pants can wait,"_ he thought, though they were already extremely tight, while going back to his task, stroking his hands up her legs and lightly kissing his way up her inner thigh.

He breathed against her, finally dipping his head lower and immediately circling her clit with his tongue. Six adored how wet she was and knew she was struggling against that tie right now as she moaned his name again. He inserted his tongue to where his fingers were earlier, and her legs suddenly made their way around his head, squeezing tightly. He smirked again, continuing to fondle her with his tongue and lips, feeling her clenching against him and getting tighter with every suck.

After _not long enough_ of that, he wrapped his arms around her thighs, pulling them back down, and lifting his head up to see her squirming and struggling almost painfully against the restraints he fashioned for her. Concerned, Six leaned forward, mouth against her ear. "Are you alright?"

Her words came out between breaths; she was panting heavily, her chest rising up and down with each passing moment. " _D-Don't stop now!_ " she demanded, her teeth clenched together, and Six smiled, positioning himself on top of her.

Six slowly removed his belt, wanting to enjoy every second of Holiday's ever-increasing libido, and as soon as that was thrown to the side, he started unzipping his pants, pulling them and his boxers down to let his hard length out of the uncomfortably tight space it'd been previously trapped in. He'd barely even noticed til then, too focused on Rebecca's needs.

Re-positioning himself, Six let the very tip hover right at her entrance, and Holiday quickly started panting again. He smirked, pushing the tip in, and, as he was always in control of himself, pulled out and hovered again, relishing Rebecca's legs suddenly on his back, trying to push him back in.

" _Six!_ " she moaned loudly, and he responded by leaning forward and kissing her roughly. She didn't kiss back, rather she continued moaning and yelling his name against his mouth.

Smiling slyly, Six rubbed himself against her, eliciting another moan followed by his name in an angry growl. He kissed her again and finally - _finally_ \- pushed his entire length into her, his hands groping her side and one of her breasts as he rocked back and forth.

Holiday panted heavily as he continued, keeping up with his rhythm and knowing she was already near climax after all that foreplay. Six pulled out again, almost entirely, and after a moment, suddenly pushed his entire self in, somehow hitting the perfect spot that made Rebecca _scream_ his name.

They were too busy concentrating on the matter at hand to worry if anyone had heard her - Six's mouth now circling her right nipple as she arched her back, pressing herself even further towards him and allowing him to push even deeper into her.

Another minute of the consistent rocking motion and Six could feel all of Rebecca's muscles tighten around him - he kissed his way up to her neck and couldn't stop himself from biting down as he reached his climax, finishing inside her without a second thought.

Holiday came a few seconds after, loving the feeling of him still in her - until Six pulled out, leaning on his elbows so he could admire her in her afterglow. After another second, the agent fell down next to his lover on the bed, tired and sweaty, but if she asked him to, he would absolutely go through all that again right then and there.

A minute later and Rebecca turned to him. "...untie me?"

Six glanced up at her still-bound wrists, reaching up and undoing the knot with a single pull, making Holiday pout at how easily he did that. She brought her arms down, rubbing her wrists over and over.

Noticing that, Six grabbed her left wrist with his right hand, absentmindedly rubbing it with his thumb. "...sorry. I guess I got a little too into that."

She sighed, smirking, and removed her hand from his, letting them both rest on his chest as she suddenly claimed his mouth with her own. "Don't be. That was great."

With a raised eyebrow, Six let his hands fall to her waist, and asked, "Any chance of that happening again?"

She laughed, making him smile, and kissed him again. "I'd say so. So long as _you're_ up for it," she teased.

Six allowed one more sly smirk to adorn his face as he pushed his leg in between hers and pushed them closer to one another; her breasts pressed against his chest, hands around his neck, and his hands resting on the curve of her waist and butt.

"I think I can manage that."


	5. 41-50

WHOOPS this is a day late again. I don't think this chapter needs any warnings, though I just wanna say that number 45 is a blatant reference to the Justice League Unlimited episode, The Man Who Has Everything. Really great episode! Aaaand enjoy :D I might start posting five fics per chapter after this 'cause school's starting soon booooo

 **41\. Fork in the Road**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

"… _what_ are you doing?"

Six stood at the doorway of the kitchen, having walked past at first, but the sight of Holiday getting out all sorts of baking ingredients while staring at a cookbook made him stop and come back.

She had a miniature heart attack before turning to glare at him. "What does it _look_ like I'm doing?"

He pouted for a half-second before stepping into the kitchen and grabbing the cookbook out of the doctor's hands.

"You don't know how to bake a cake?"

She crossed her arms. "If that's leading up to a sexist joke, don't think I won't hit you."

He smirked at her reaction and handed the book back. "Not because you're a woman. Cooking is considered a science, isn't it? I'd expect you to already know how to bake things."

She frowned, staring at the book again. "Yes, well…it's the _only_ science I can't seem to handle."

An eyebrow raised, Six leaned against the counter she was putting ingredients on. "Do you need help?"

She looked over at him curiously. "Are you offering?"

He shrugged. "You don't seem very confident. I'd rather you not burn down the building."

She glared at him and turned back to her book. "I don't need your help, _Agent!_ I can handle this."

Rather than respond verbally, Six just crossed his arms and stayed where he was. Holiday, used to his attitude, ignored him and continued grabbing what she needed.

His eyes followed her as she walked by him – grabbing a spoon, some eggs, flour, and measuring cups. The rest of the ingredients were already on the counter. Holiday stared pensively at the giant bowl in the middle before taking a deep breath and reaching for the first thing on her list.

Six's eyebrow raised eyebrow. He'd never seen her so nervous.

As she started to open a big bag of flour, Six realized he had no idea why she was baking a cake. "What is this for, anywa-!"

As soon as he started to speak, Holiday let out a surprised squeak and tore the bag of flour open – flour getting _everywhere._ Her face, her clothes, the counter, the bowl, Six's shoes…

She threw the almost empty bag at Six, and though he dodged, flour got all over him as well. "Dammit, Six!"

Wiping off his face, he scowled at her. " _Me?!_ What did _I_ do?!"

She attempted to wipe the flour off her face, instead just spreading it around with the flour already coating her hands. "You-! You broke my concentration!"

Six rolled his eyes and stepped closer to her, shrugging off his partially-ruined jacket and handing it to the doctor. "Of course I did. Here, just use this."

Angrily, she tore the jacket out of his hand and wiped off her face. After a few moments of staring at the flour-covered jacket, she turned to Six with a blush on her face and closed eyes. "Sorry."

He reached forward and grabbed his jacket back. "For getting flour everywhere?" he asked with a smirk.

"Just-!" she started, biting her lip. "Just help me, alright? No sass. No comments. Just help me."

Smirking still, Six looked in the bowl. "Well, you should probably measure the flour again."

"Right," she responded, grabbing the measuring cups. "And it's for Rex."

"Hm?"

"The cake is for Rex. It's been a year since he came back from Breach's portal...so I thought it'd be nice."

Six didn't respond verbally, just nodding slowly at her words. That made sense.

Lost in thought, the agent almost didn't notice when Holiday took a wrong step in front of him - slipping on some of the flour coating the floor beneath them. She let out a squeak and Six reacted immediately, wrapping his arms around her and taking a step forward. Unfortunately, that landed his foot in the flour as well, and they ended up both slipping to the floor.

His hands around her back and hers around his neck, Holiday groaned in embarrassment and leaned her head back against the floor. She hated cooking so much.

"Are you alright?" he asked, noticing that she hadn't yelled at him yet.

"Fine. Just wishing I didn't keep trying to bake when I know I can't," she growled out, totally frustrated.

Opening his mouth, Six was about to comment on how out of character it was for her to just _give up_ on something, when a loud "WHOA!" was heard from the kitchen doorway.

The two adults turned their heads to see Rex staring down at them - a blush and scandalized expression on his face. And that's all it took for them to realize that Six was lying on top of Holiday on the floor, their arms around each other, and both of them covered in flour.

Unable to form an explanation, Six and Holiday opted to say nothing at all, leading Rex to cover his eyes with his hands. "I-uh...sorry! I won't interrupt!" he said quickly, continuing on his path past the kitchen.

Six looked back down at Holiday, curious as to how she was reacting...and how he _should_ be reacting. She just rolled her eyes and started to laugh, making Six raise his eyebrow _again._

"Is this how you always act when you try to cook?"

Her laughter subsided and she smirked up at him. "Pretty much. I try not to do it too often."

Six finally sat up and pulled the doctor with him, mirroring her smirk. "I think we should keep it that way."

 **42\. Start**  
 **:: Holiday, Rhodes :: Rated T for sexy conversations**

She _knew_ that, having only been dating for a few weeks now, she shouldn't be expecting much physical attention from him. That was normal. And besides that fact, it was _Six_ , just being able to hold his hand was a huge deal!

But that didn't change the fact that she was over thirty and hadn't been with a man in _years_.

Though the idea of bringing this up around Six was...well, she didn't know how to do it. When he first lost his memories, he made it pretty obvious that he'd had some _experience_ , but as far as she'd known him the years before, she never really imagined he had spent much time under the sheets. Not that she imagined it often!

However, she still needed to vent to _someone_ , and that someone just so happened to be Dr. Rhodes - whom Rebecca was spending some quality time with during a slow weekend.

"Oh, you're _kidding!_ " Rhodes said immediately after Holiday finished explaining.

Holiday shook her head, blushing just a bit and biting her bottom lip. Was is really that bad?

"Rebecca, seriously, have you even looked at yourself?" Rhodes chuckled. "You couldn't possibly think Six would say no!"

Holiday picked up her tea and took a long, awkward sip. "It's...not that I'm afraid of _rejection_ so much as...I just...don't know how to go about it...exactly."

Rhodes' eyes practically popped out of her head. "Wait, you've never-"

And Holiday interrupted with a strict glare. " _Yes_ , I have, just...I've never had to initiate it, is all."

At that, the British doctor laughed a bit. "It's really not that hard. Just buy some lingerie and sit on his lap."

Rebecca stared at her colleague for a few seconds before letting out a small laugh. "Yeah, right, like I could do _that._ "

Rather than the laugh she expected, Dr. Holiday looked up to see Rhodes with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk in her direction.

"...you seriously think I could do that?"

"Rebecca, _come on_. Trust me. I know Six is different from most guys, but he's still a _guy._ Just try it."

Holiday blushed a bit and took another sip of her drink. "I-I, um...I guess I could...though I don't even _own_ anything like that-"

"That's even better!" Rhodes gave her friend a wide smile. "You can go out and buy something green!"

She felt her face get even hotter and Rebecca stared down at the shallow remains of her tea. "I can't believe I'm actually considering this."

"Oh, you're not just _considering_ it, Rebecca - you're doing it!"

 **43\. Nature's Fury**  
 **:: Holiday, Six, Rex, Bobo, White**

"Hey!" Bobo yelled, rushing into the lab. "You guys're gonna wanna watch out for the Doc for a few days!" He stopped suddenly and looked over the men in front of him. "Yeah. _Especially_ you three."

Rex, Six, and White - currently displayed on the screen above them - stared incredulously at the monkey speaking to them.

"Huh? Why?" Rex asked curiously.

Bobo groaned. "Green Bean, can you explain it to the kid?"

Rex looked over at Six, who rolled his eyes. "If you're implying what I think you are, we have nothing to worry about. Dr. Holiday is much more professional than letting some monthly hormone problems mess with her work."

White growled. "You interrupted our meeting to tell us about Dr. Holiday's _cycle?!_ First of all, _Chimp_ , I don't want to know about that. And secondly, _why_ do _you_ know about it?"

Rex stuck his tongue out in realization of what the conversation was about. Right. He'd had to learn about that stuff when he learned about sex. Which wasn't fun.

The monkey shrugged. "Bobo can always tell when a lady's on the rag. One of my skills."

Six put down the papers he was holding and glared at the chimpanzee more closely. "This conversation is _over_ and this meeting needs to continue _without_ you present. Out."

Bobo shrugged rudely and headed out the door. "Ungrateful humans..."

As he stepped through the door, Dr. Holiday walked in, raising an eyebrow at Bobo's clearly pissed off attitude. "What's eating him?"

White interrupted both Six and Rex. "It's not worth discussing. Let's get back to the meeting, shall we?"

Holiday dismissed her curiosity and sat down next to Rex, who was watching her closely. She pretended not to notice, and Rex found nothing different about her than usual. Stupid Bobo.

 **44\. At Peace**  
 **:: Gabe, Michael**

As crazy as their dad was, he _cared._ They never doubted that he cared about them and wanted them to be successful.

When they were born, conjoined twins, they got a lot of press coverage for being connected at the shoulders and surviving just fine up to age 14. When they turned 15, their nanites activated and they mutated into the creature they were now.

Dad wanted them to succeed. As conjoined twins, they dealt with weird looks and having to adjust to a stranger idea of how to go about their futures, and Dad was dealing with that pretty well. Mom was quiet, but supportive.

Soccer was the first thing Dad tried to get them to be successful at. With being so top-heavy, their legs didn't work so well. Next was basketball - another team sport, also didn't work very well. When they first played ping-pong they really enjoyed it, and they were _really good_ at it, so Dad supported them as long as he could.

After about six months of playing ping-pong, they learned to hate it. They hated the game, the fans, their competition - even when Rex came along and they had a real challenge, they still hated it. It was over a year before the incident with Rex and the C-Notes that they discovered piano. They loved music and being able to _make_ music was a gift they wanted to embrace.

And thanks to Rex, thanks to his help they _finally_ confronted their dad - and they could play piano like they'd wanted to for so long. Even if Dad wanted to make it into a competition - who cares? They were finally enjoying what they were doing.

 **45\. Heart Song**  
 **:: Six, Rex, Holiday + others :: Next in my When EVOs Attack! Series. Okay, that's not what it's called but you know what I'm talkin' bout.**

There were specific reasons why Six didn't like it when Holiday came on missions with him and Rex. She wasn't weak by any means, but she wasn't the sixth most dangerous man and she wasn't an EVO that could create machines from his own body. She was just an average woman with decent aim with a firearm.

But she _insisted._ These EVOs are _different_ , she said. She needs to _study them_ , she claimed. And White just nodded his head - what the doctor says goes, apparently. Why couldn't Rex and he just get one of these EVOs and bring it back for her? Why'd she need to come with?

But there she was, excitedly tapping some numbers into a small machine he didn't recognize. She got up as he landed the vehicle, shaking Rex's shoulder to wake him up. Six stood up and lead the way, not quite sure what to expect. The report simply said that there was a giant group of EVOs - all similarly shaped and sized - coming from the Arctic tundra. They were attacking people, and those people would fall into a deep coma with smiles on their faces. It sounded disturbing and eerie. The EVOs had yet to be removed from any of their victims, but that was why Holiday and Providence were on the case.

Any EVO that messes with a person's head like that needed to be studied. Six understood that. Just...Holiday was in danger when she was out here with them. He didn't like it when Holiday was in danger, for obvious reasons.

As they exited the jump jet, Six immediately sheathed his magnablades, having heard a small noise off to the side. He flinched as he heard one come from the _other_ side. It seemed the EVOs weren't interested in hiding.

"Holiday, _stay back,_ " he commanded, stepping in front of her.

Rex jumped in front of them, ready for action. "Hey Six - I thought they said there was a whole ton of EVOs. Where are they?"

The agent glared left and right. "They're here _somewhere._ " He stepped forward, and there was a loud noise to the left. Six immediately jumped after it and sliced down, hitting a squishy creature with odd, light-purple tentacles coming out of a darker purple middle that looked like a bunch of roses put together. It seemed...plant-like. Six shook its corpse off of his blade, ready to attack the next one that moves.

"Rex, you know what they look like. _Don't_ let it latch on to you - we don't know what its effects on another EVO will be."

"Yeah, yeah, you should be more worried about yourself, Six. We _know_ what it'll do to you," Rex responded snarkily, forgetting to mention Holiday only because he wasn't used to her being with them.

Six shuffled his foot a bit, waiting for the next EVO to make its location known. Rex sighed. " _Where are they?_ "

As Rex whined, a dozen of the same type of EVO Six killed before, piled on top of each other in front of them. Six cocked an eyebrow at the sight, while Rex let out a low whistle and sent a punch to the middle EVO. Holiday watched in fascination from behind, gun ready in case one comes her way.

A couple dozen more EVOs made the same totem-pole structure in the same area - Six and Rex went on their way attacking the EVOs, and Holiday shot at them from the back. They knew there would be a decent amount of creatures, but no one said it'd be an _army._ They would definitely need backup.

As Six called for backup on his comm, he turned to the doctor behind him. "Holiday, get back on the jet. There's more than we thought."

She glared at him, but recognized the danger of the situation and did as he said. As she closed the door, however, she felt a foreign presence somewhere behind her.

Turning around, Holiday only had a brief moment to gasp and reach for her gun as the EVO wrapped its vines around her and attached itself to her chest.

* * *

As Rebecca finished her speech, the audience clapped excitedly, some people even giving standing ovations, and she smiled happily. Sure, finding the cure for EVOs and nanites in general felt great, but she did that _years_ ago. Right now, she was at a conference to celebrate her finding the cure for breast cancer, and she wasn't sure which accomplishment felt more amazing.

As she exited the stage, letting the next speaker come on, a familiar hand took hold of hers backstage. She was suddenly spun around and felt Six's lips against hers; she happily responded with her arms wrapping around his neck.

As they separated, she smirked. "Hey, Handsome. You been waiting this whole time?"

He smirked back. "Just got here. I would've come earlier to hear your speech, but _someone_ called me claiming that she needed my help."

Rebecca looked around her husband to see Beverly waving behind him. "Hey Bev! Shouldn't you be in class?"

Bev ran up and hugged her sister. "Yeeaah, but I wanted to hear your speech! Six was too slow, though. Laaame."

She laughed in response. "Well, you better make up the work you missed!"

Bev crossed her arms and huffed. "Yeah, yeah!" Her phone buzzed and she reached down to check the message. "Rex says Jake won't stop crying. I think that means we should head home."

"Oh, poor baby, I hope Rex didn't try to throw him again..." Rebecca commented, grabbing her coat.

Six snorted. "If he even _thought_ about it, I'll kill him."

Holiday chuckled and leaned up, kissing her husband on the cheek. "You know, some people take those threats seriously, and we _are_ in a high security area."

He smirked and put his arm around her waist. "Right. Well, Miss Cure-Finder, let's go find out what Rex did to our son."

* * *

When backup arrived, Six was already tired from fighting off a few dozen of those EVOs. A few had almost managed to latch on to him, but he was fortunate to have Rex there. The EVOs were apparently very lightweight and Rex's "Boogie Pack" blew them away easily.

He ran inside his jet, ready to tell Holiday that she could come out and get ready to dissect one of these things. "Holiday!"

After a few seconds with no response, he moved to his comm, Rex walking up beside him. "Holiday? Where are you?"

"Six? Where's Holiday?"

"...not sure. She's not answering her comm," he replied, concern ever-so-lightly etched into his features. He walked forward a few more steps, hoping maybe Holiday just fell asleep somewhere. Rather than the alternative situation, which was...

"... _shit!_ Holiday!" Six ran to the doctor, who was sitting on her knees in a corner of the room. He spun her around and, to his dismay, one of the EVOs was attached to her chest. "Holiday!"

At the sound of so much worry in Six's voice, Rex was at his side in a second. "What's-oh, crap! Doc! _Doc!_ " Rex grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly, eventually moving down to tug on the EVOs vines.

Six grabbed Rex's hands and pulled him off of it. "You could be _irritating_ it, Rex. Try curing it instead."

Rex nodded and reached forward, pressing his palm against the creature's center. Lights flashed from his hand for a few seconds, before blinking and going back to normal.

"No good. Six, what do we do?!" Rex shouted, standing up.

Six turned to the kid, taking a second to think before giving his orders. "Find someone who knows what these EVOs do. How to get them off without hurting her. I'll stay here and try what I can."

"Are you su-"

" _Rex_ , go! We don't know what this thing is doing to her!" Six almost shouted, not wanting to waste any time. Rex quickly activated his Boogie Pack and flew out of the room, leaving Six and Holiday alone. "Holiday, if you're there, you've got to _snap out of it._ "

He shook her lightly, making sure not to touch the EVO. " _Rebecca!_ "

* * *

The drive home was calm and fun - Holiday was pretty tired after a long day of speeches and meeting with other well renown scientists from all over the world. Being able to end the day with a nice evening at home was always the best way to relax herself.

Six pulled up into the driveway, and they all stepped out of the car to be greeted by a shrill yell of "DADDY!" and a small boy crashing into Six's legs. Holiday smiled and waved at Rex, who was standing at the garage door. Circe and Noah poked their heads out from behind him.

Six reached down and picked up his son, settling him comfortably in his arms. "Hey, Jake! Did you have fun with Rex today?"

"No!" Jacob pouted, pointing over at the group of teens. "Rex kept tryin' to leave me with Noah so he could play with Circe!"

Rex and Circe looked at each other while Beverly made her way over to the group. Holiday stepped next to her husband and leaned against him. "Is that so?" she asked, looking over to the teens.

Noah shrugged. "Well it's not like a four-year-old would make up something like _that_."

Rex rubbed the back of his neck and Circe pouted, poking him in the chest. "I _told_ you to stay with Jacob!"

"Yeah, well, it's our ten-month anniversary!"

"You know I don't care about stuff like that!" She rolled her eyes, and Rex laughed.

Noah walked over to Beverly, greeting her with a handshake and a fist-bump. "Did you leave class early?"

She smirked. "Yup! Six broke me out before Buchiner's big test."

During all these teen conversations, Six and Holiday had made their way into the house with Jacob, who was hugging his mommy and refusing to let go.

"So what's for dinner?"

Six chuckled. "I was thinking pizza."

Jacob lifted his head and gave his dad a toothy grin. "Yay! We gotta get pepperoni, okay?"

Smiling, Rebecca put Jacob down on the couch and poked her husband's chest. "Just make sure you order from the _good_ pizza place this time! But otherwise, that sounds great-"

 _"Holiday!"_

Holiday blinked, mid-sentence, swearing that was Six's voice, but he was standing right in front of her and definitely _did not_ just shout her name. Her...last name. Which he didn't call her anymore, either.

Six noticed her confusion. "Everything okay?"

 _"Snap out of it!"_

She blinked again, about to respond, when the teens all jumped into the kitchen. "Did someone say pizza?" Rex asked happily.

Jacob ran over to him and punched his knees. "No pizza for you! You didn't play with me!"

As Six turned around to sort out the kids issues, Rebecca looked around for a potential source of the voice she heard earlier. It was _definitely_ Six's...but...

* * *

"So she's...dreaming?" Six asked, not turning away from the doctor's lifeless expression in front of him.

"According to the neural patterns of our other victims, it's similar to that, yes," the scientist responded, looking over his charts and then back at Holiday. "We don't know the details, but judging from the smiles...I'd imagine she's in a very happy place right now."

Rex raised an eyebrow. "So what's bad about that? Can't we just wait til she wakes up?"

"She's _not_ asleep," the scientist started. "so it's not as simple as 'waking her up'. The issue is _how_ to bring her back to reality."

Six grabbed at the EVO, trying to tug it off of Holiday. " _Holiday!_ "

Rex watched this unfold and looked back to the scientist. "Can she even hear us? Has _anyone_ been able to get the EVO off? Is it gonna kill her?!"

As Six continued tugging on the EVO and shouting her name, the scientist turned to the teenager next to him. "I'm not sure if she can hear you; _no_ , no one's gotten it off; and...well, as far as we know, it won't kill her, but without being hooked up to a machine, she could die of starvation or thirst."

Rex grimaced and looked down at the doctor. "Maybe I can try curing it again..."

As Rex reached down to attempt, Six pulled the main body away from her. "Rex, try curing it from underneath. Maybe it's weaker there."

The teen nodded (he didn't really see a difference, but it couldn't hurt to try) and tried just that, both of them repeatedly saying Holiday's name as he did.

* * *

 _"Doc!"_

 _"Holiday!"_

As Six hung up the phone after ordering their dinner, he turned back to his wife, who was looking around in a really paranoid manner. "Rebecca, is something wrong?"

"I-I don't know," she replied, reaching for his hand. "I think I should lie down for a bit."

He kept frowning, but didn't argue. "I'll come get you when the pizza's here."

She smiled up at him in thanks and headed upstairs, walking into their room and sitting on the bed.

 _"Doctor Holiday - if you can hear me...what you're seeing isn't real!"_

She gasped quietly and looked up and around. That was absolutely Six's voice. And he said this...wasn't real? What did that...

She paused in thought as Beverly walked in the room. "Hey Rebecca! Why are you up here?"

Rebecca stared at her sister, realization coming to her. Faded memories of an EVO that messes with the mind came to her, and she stared down at her hands. "I was just...thinking."

"About what?" Beverly asked, sitting down beside her.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Rebecca reached out and hugged her sister tightly. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Beverly."

"Rebecca? What's wrong?!" Beverly hugged back, still confused.

"Something's not right here...this isn't...you're not..." She started to cry, and moved her hands to cup her younger sister's face. "I'll find the cure someday...I have to..."

"What are you talking about?" Beverly didn't notice, but Holiday did - the younger girl's skin started to grow gray hairs and her hair was turning black and greasy. Rebecca knew the extra legs would come soon.

So rather than answer her sister, she leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Beverly's head. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

As the EVO finally separated from Holiday's chest, it flew back towards Six, who immediately pushed it to the ground, making it let go of his arms. Rex's powers couldn't cure it, but they did distract and potentially weaken it. The scientist that was with them quickly jumped away from the violent scene as Rex slammed a giant fist down on the EVO.

Six left the EVO to Rex and ran back to Holiday's side. " _Holiday!_ Holiday, can you hear me?" He shook her lightly, until she finally blinked a few times - the only amount of movement he'd seen from her since being attacked. He breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't remove his hands from her shoulders.

Looking up at him, Holiday couldn't help but remember the feeling of total, complete happiness with their marriage and family and _Beverly_ and...and now everything was back to normal. They were in the middle of a war and Six _didn't_ love her and Rex was still being used by Providence and Beverly couldn't even form coherent thoughts.

She stared down at her knees as the tears started to form, immediately blurring her vision and embarrassing her to the point of not being able to look up at the agent in front of her.

He lifted a hand in concern, his habitual lack of physical contact leaving it hover around the side of her head. "Holiday? What's-"

Six was interrupted by Holiday's hand shoving his away, and she stood up, running past him and towards the nearest bathroom, a hand shielding her eyes. "I...I need to be alone."

He watched her run off, desperately worried of what she could've seen that would put her in such a state.

Having taken care of the EVO, Rex walked back to Six. "Why'd the Doc run off? Is she okay?"

"...she's clearly upset about something. I can't imagine what," Six turned to the scientist they'd been talking to. "You said her dreams were supposed to be happy, didn't you?"

Fixing his tie, the scientist in question cleared his throat. "Well, yes, but she's not in that happy place anymore, as you can see. It must've been difficult to come back here and realize everything she'd had there was suddenly gone. And on that note - please let me know when she's done. We'll need to do some tests on her."

In hearing that, Rex and Six both looked at each other, immediately knowing what Rebecca must've seen. Her _sister._ They considered going after her, but...there wasn't much to say. She was strong. Hopefully she'd be back to her old self soon.

 **46\. Crash**  
 **:: Six, Holiday, Numbers**

"You may now kiss the bride!"

Rebecca wrapped her arms around his muscular neck as Six's hands gripped her waist, pulling each other into their first official kiss as husband and wife. They broke apart and she giggled quietly, happy to be here, with him, with her relatives and friends (Six claimed to have no one to invite, to which she suggested they elope and he said White would give him hell if they tried) filing out of their seats and towards the more casual reception area.

As Six let go of her, smiling that little smile he only gave her, it hit her that she was still in shock that all of this was actually happening.

Her doubts of this wedding being reality were strengthened when a group of four very oddly-dressed people loudly made their way onto the grounds they'd rented for the wedding.

"...crap," Six muttered, bringing Holiday's attention back to him. Their guests, however, had quieted their own conversations and were staring at the new arrivals.

"Ey, Six!" Five yelled, waving her hands back and forth. "Where's our invitations, Love?"

Trey followed behind, and Rex let out a loud snort at the third deadliest man's attempt at dressing snazzy for the occasion. Apparently, even at the Big and Tall Men's Store, nothing fit. "Whoaz, Fish 'n Chips, youse weren't kiddin! She _is_ perdy!"

IV circled around Trey, disbelief on his face as he looked at Six and, more specifically, Holiday in his arms. He gaped. "Ah...damn...she really _is_. How does _Six_ snag someone like that?"

And last, but not least, Dos made his presence known by scoffing at the rest of them, his eyes on the doctor. "She seems like his type."

During this whole exchange, with the immediate confusion amongst the guests (sans Rex and White, of course), Six had been apologizing to Holiday repeatedly. She laughed at him. "So...I assume these are the other 'numbers'...?"

Six glared at nothing, before returning his gaze to his 'siblings'. "I'm so sorry."

She gave him a quirked eyebrow as he motioned for her to follow him towards the new guests. "Six, it's not a bad thing. They're practically your family, aren't they?"

He frowned. "I...suppose." Though he didn't like the idea. He stalked up to them all, giving them his best pokerface. "Five. Trey. IV. ...Dos."

Holiday, and more than likely everyone there, noticed the hesitation before Six awkwardly greeted the second deadliest man on Earth. She smiled anyway and held out her hand. "Um...hi! I'm-"

"Doctor Rebecca Elizabeth Holiday. Age thirty-two. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Providence's lead scientist and head nanotechnology researcher," Dos interrupted.

Holiday blinked at him, then retracted her hand. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and looked up at Six, who had a horribly menacing glare on his face. She let out a small laugh at that, grabbing the entire group's attention at her odd reaction. Most people were very intimidated to hear what Dos knew about them. He didn't even mention her height, weight, and birthday...among other things.

She stopped laughing and brought a hand up to her mouth to cover it up. "I see your reputation precedes you...well, anyways, sorry Six didn't invite you! I'm glad you came, anyway."

Six raised an eyebrow at her and shoved his hands in his pants pockets. He could practically see the question marks above the other numbers' heads.

Five smiled. "Wow, luv, pretty _and_ nice." Though perhaps a bit naiive...they _were_ mercenaries, after all.

Holiday blushed a little bit, and Trey let out a laugh. "Yeah, Six, what 'appened? You must 'ave really cleaned yo'self up for dis one!"

Six was about to reply when he noticed IV had grabbed one of Holiday's hands - the ringless one - and gotten a little too close to her for either of their comfort. He overheard a quiet, "If things don't work out with Six..." before grabbing her waist and predatorily pulling her back to him.

"Things are working out _fine_ , thanks," he angrily replied, and Rebecca just laughed against his chest.

"I don't understand why you didn't want them here," she said honestly, and Six gave her a raised eyebrow in response.

"Seriously?"

"They're funny!" Everyone's eyebrows flew way up high at that. "And they're your family. So long as they keep quiet about their, um, careers...I don't see the problem..."

Six blinked twice behind his sunglasses, then looked up at his 'siblings'.

"You heard your woman, Six," Dos smirked. "Good thing we arrived just in time for the festivities...I hate long ceremonies."

Six frowned again, realization dawning on him. "How did you even know about this?"

All four of them lifted their hands to point at Rex, who'd been introducing Noah to Beverly nearby. Six looked over and growled, stalking towards Rex, while Rebecca just apologized to the Numbers for his behavior.

 **47\. Perfection**  
 **:: Caesar**

He was surprised. Pleasantly so, but still surprised - when Rex was still so much like he used to be, despite the memory loss and being raised by two very different people. Rex was still _Rex._ He was recognizably Rex, not just in voice and face, but his personality. He may have had occasional issues with Agent Six and Dr. Holiday, but how they took care of Rex was _not_ on that list.

And it was strange, too. Dr. Holiday was very similar to their mother, sure, but Agent Six held very few similarities to his and Rex's father. Rafael was a scientist - think before you act, brains before brawn - he refused to sacrifice even one life in his work. Agent Six was a muscle man - not scientifically intelligent, had killed _numerous_ people in his life (yes, of course he read the man's file!) - not at all like their dad.

But the results speak the loudest - Rex was fantastic. He was smart, charismatic, dedicated, fun-loving...everything he was as a kid, but multiplied. He couldn't have wished for a better set of adoptive parents for his brother.

And though he had no belief in any afterlife, Caesar held a small hope that Violeta and Rafael could see just how well their son had grown up.

 **48\. Everyday Magic**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

There were things he always had a habit of doing.

Bringing her coffee, telling her to go to sleep, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it to calm her down, giving her that nod that said, _I'm fine, Rex is fine, we're fine._

She'd gotten used to all of it. Every little glance, motion - the way he looked at her when she took off his sunglasses for inspections, the way he gave short answers to her long, detailed questions, the way he'd say her first name on those rare occasions of extreme concern.

It was what she knew about Six. What she loved about Six. Not knowing much about his past - he never told her, but she knew he was some sort of killer, and it should've bothered her but Holiday had learned to be a present and future kind of person - meant that that was all she had to go on. She didn't mind. The mystery was enticing and...kind of alluring, in fact.

When he lost his memories - he lost all of that, all the little things, in those first two weeks she was thrown off balance. No one brought her coffee and told her to go to sleep. No one squeezed her shoulder in comfort when she stressed herself out. The loss made her almost want to cry. But she was a present and future kind of person - the past was the past. This was Six now. She'd have to get used to it.

And though that's what she told herself, his missing mannerisms were like losing a small part of her lifestyle. She didn't want to focus on it, but it kept creeping back into her mind. It kept coming back no matter what she did.

And after that third week, she'd had enough. Holiday allowed herself a moment to sit and cry about it. She hated crying - not because it was a weakness, but she just felt it was unhelpful and unnecessary - but it did make her feel a little better.

But what _really_ made her feel better was the footsteps behind her followed by a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. And he gave her a questioning look - obviously wanting to know what could possibly make _Dr. Beautiful_ cry like that - and she immediately stopped and gave him a smile. She stood up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, no explanation given as she walked away.

It was only two weeks and he was starting it again. Who knows, maybe he'd start bringing her coffee late at night, too.

 **49\. Umbrella**  
 **:: Rex, Six, Holiday**

The message was clear. There was a little boy in the outskirts of Detroit that had turned into a _gigantic_ EVO and was currently rampaging. This was one of the EVOs they needed to cure or kill. No other options. He honestly was too big to be contained.

And for that reason alone, Holiday came along on the mission. Six hated having her on missions, but he understood her reasons. If Rex couldn't cure it initially, her encouragement sometimes had enough effect on him to help him for a second try.

The worst part, however, would be if she _couldn't_ help. Six knew Rex wouldn't be able to finish the EVO - he never could - so Six would have to do it himself. He hated it. He'd hate it even more if both Rex _and_ Holiday had to watch him do it. But she was a realistic woman, hopefully she'd considered that already.

When they arrived in The Keep, it was pouring rain and they could see the EVO despite his distance away. The kid had grown to at _least_ twenty stories tall and was knocking down trees everywhere he stepped. His skin had mutated to a sort of leathery-looking substance, there was no hair anywhere on his body, and from the distance he didn't seem to have any eyes at all.

Six motioned to Rex to follow him with a group of Providence soldiers. Holiday, as per Six's demand, stayed back - for a few minutes - before following after. The kid was thirteen years old. His parents and older sister were with a Providence clean-up crew at that very moment, picking up the pieces of their partly destroyed apartment building. They'd already lost their home, she would _not_ let them lose their son, too.

When she'd arrived at the scene, Rex and Six had already started attacking the EVO with their swords - soldiers firing nonstop at its legs. Unfortunately, the bullets weren't having much effect, so Holiday knew she'd be useless if she tried to help. Six's magnablades and Rex's BFS, however, were able to pierce the EVO's skin.

And it _bled._ The EVO's blood was thick and black and oozing out of wherever Six and Rex hit it. This poor kid would need immediate medical assistance once he was cured - and he _would_ be cured.

After another good slice of his BFS, the EVO fell down - taking a large group of trees with it. Six yelled at Rex that it was the perfect time to try curing him, and yelled at the group of soldiers with them to back off. As they did, Holiday stepped forward to get a better look.

Rex landed on top of the EVO's chest and slammed his hands down. There was clearly a spark of electricity, but...nothing. Six's teeth clenched and Holiday's heart stopped. Rex's breathing picked up and he stared at his hands for a second before trying again.

Still nothing.

Holiday looked over at Agent Six, who was clearly about to tell Rex to abort mission. She wasn't having that. She _couldn't_ have that.

" _Rex,_ " the doctor said into her communicator. "You _have_ to concentrate. Think about his family. His...his _future._ He's even younger than you, Rex. _Concentrate._ "

Six glared over at the doctor, but she ignored him and stared up at their 'secret weapon.' Rex stood up and the EVO started to move again, but before he could get up, Rex _slammed_ his hands onto the EVO's chest.

This time, _third time's the charm_ , those lovely blue lights started to spread across its entire body. Holiday felt her heart soar as the EVO's body started to shrink. She and Six ran over to where Rex and the injured child were.

Six grabbed Rex and looked down at Holiday, who nodded up at him before looking back down at the child.

The little boy squinted his eyes open and looked straight at Dr. Holiday. He sputtered a few words, but Holiday just put her hand on his cheek to calm him down.

"You'll be okay, Maurice. We're gonna get you to a hospital and your family'll be there when you wake up," she said quietly.

With his last bit of strength before passing out, the previously EVO'd child smiled at the doctor. Just after that, two soldiers with a stretcher arrived and pulled the kid onto it, running as fast as they could to get him to an ambulance.

Holiday didn't move at first. That scare was...all too familiar. Everything was similar - even down to the rain. After a minute of silence, she felt a heavy piece of fabric wrap around her shoulders.

Looking up, Holiday saw Six - now jacket-less - looking down at her. She let out the breath she was holding with an airy laugh and wiped at her eyes. Of course, Six probably knew how she was feeling. He always knew, somehow.

Rex waved at them from his dry spot underneath The Keep's shade. "You two are gonna get sick! Come _on!_ "

Agreeing with the kid, she started to stand up and grabbed Six's hand when he eventually reached out to help her. Once upright, Holiday looked up at the man and smiled. It wasn't often in this job that things went right. But when they did...it felt good.

 **50\. Party**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

Every December 31st, Providence had a nice little party to celebrate New Years. It was relatively casual - and of course not _every_ employee would be there, but a handful of scientists and soldiers would make their way into the large conference room at some point during the night and have a few drinks or gather around for the big countdown at the end of the night.

Holiday noted that even _Six_ showed up to these parties, despite his hatred of all things social. Bobo was always there; Rex was allowed, but he tried to sneak some drinks almost every year and he _never_ enjoyed them. Even White popped his face up on the big screen during the countdown every year. It really made everything feel like they were some big ol' family rather than a group of people trying to save the world from the biggest epidemic since the plague.

It was nice.

Though there was another, small thing. Every year, at the party, there would always be some couples kissing right when the clock struck twelve. Even before Providence, any party she went to involved that beginning-of-the-new-year-kiss. She'd gotten one before, from an old boyfriend in college, but that was _years_ ago and didn't matter anymore.

The first New Years party since she'd come to Providence was only a month and a half after she first met Six and Rex. Rex, being attached to Bobo, spent most of the party with him, while she and Six stood next to each other, by the drink table, in companionable silence, as the clock counted down.

And in that moment, she glanced over to him. Sure - they'd only known each other for a month...but there was _something there_ , wasn't there? She sure as hell thought there was. Couldn't be sure about him though, the sunglasses really messed with everything.

So with every second, she inched a bit closer to the agent, curious if he'd do something or even notice. But when midnight hit, and she glanced at him, trying to hide her eagerness, he just took another sip of his drink. She mentally sighed and knew it was a stupid idea to begin with.

By next year, Holiday already knew she was in love with this man. No intention to act on it, besides an occasional flirty look or comment, since they had a kid to raise and a world to save. No time for romance or anything like that.

At the party, Rex went off with Bobo again, after sampling some wine and making disgusted noises for the next five minutes, and that was when Rebecca realized that she and Six were standing in the _exact same spot_ as last year. And the memory of what she wanted the previous year hit her tenfold.

She knew Six better now. There's no way he'd ever go for the New Years kiss. Too cliché, too...not...Six-like. But there was still a good forty minutes until showtime, and she needed a distraction. She didn't notice him look over to say something to her until she'd already left to grab herself a drink...or two. Or three.

By the time the countdown had started, Holiday was just a bit more wasted than she'd been in the past couple years. It'd been unintentional, honestly - she only planned on getting a little buzzed to ease the embarrassment - but somehow one drink just led to another and another. This is why she tried not to drink at _all_ if she could help it.

She waltzed over to Six with about twenty seconds left, and he flinched when she was suddenly leaning all over him. He put down his drink and grabbed her arms, pulling her off of him, but not letting go in case she'd lose her balance. He was immediately concerned - Holiday didn't drink much and considering her _looks_ and her status...someone could easily take advantage of her like this. He suggested to her blurring mind that she should get back to her room, to which she quickly argued that _no_ , she wanted to stay for the rest of the countdown.

He sighed and said alright, he could wait another ten seconds. Though, he didn't expect, after the one second passed by and everyone was shouting "Happy New Year!", when he turned to Holiday to tell her it was time to go, suddenly her lips were pressed against his for a good ten extra seconds. Then she smiled and promptly fell asleep on his shoulder.

He never brought up that moment again, and she had absolutely no memory of it.

The next year was after all the most frightening and exciting moments of Rex's life occurred - Van Kleiss came into the picture, he met Circe and Noah, his _brother_ came back from his adventure in time-space, _Beverly was cured_ , and on that day she was reminded about how she always waited until New Years to try something with Six, and then suddenly it's September and they're actually going on a date - but then he went and lost his memory, and then Rex went and got sucked into a portal through time and Black Knight came to Providence and they _fled._

All-in-all, it was a big year. Everything that _could_ happen _did_ happen - except for nobody died, which was great. Er, well, nobody she had a direct connection to.

Needless to say, since they weren't even a part of Providence during that New Years, there was no party and there was no kiss. Holiday sat on the roof of their dam base, looking up at the stars and then down at her laptop, which showed the time go from 11:58 to 11:59.

She sighed. There wasn't even a thought about kissing Six this year. She just wanted Rex back.

The _next year_ , however, everything was different. They had defeated Black Knight and the Consortium and Rex and Six just started fighting any kind of nanotechnological crime (or any crime the police couldn't handle). She still watched over Rex's bios and nanite activity. White was still in his suit and ordering her to get rid of nanites forever. She had no problem getting paid to continue working on it.

However...things between her and Six hadn't actually...gone anywhere. There was a couple of _almosts_ , but not anything definitive. In fact, some of those almosts had been pretty painful.

Now that they were back in Providence, the New Years parties were back. Most everything was back to normal. And this time, Holiday was even able to invite Beverly, and Noah was there, and it was just an all-around more interesting party than ever before. White still only showed up on the screen, but he actually chatted with some people for a bit rather than just staring at the countdown.

After a year of not thinking about a New Years kiss, Holiday really wasn't thinking about it this year, either. She was already thirty - much too old to spend her time just constantly waiting for him to swoop in and whisk her away.

Though what she didn't notice, however, was while standing in that _spot_ , the one they were always standing in when the idea of a kiss from him came to mind, was that Six was periodically glancing over at her. And shuffling around just a bit.

She sipped her drink instead of looking at him, and as the clock hit ten seconds to midnight, she smiled. It'd been a good year. She was looking forward to the next one.

At five seconds to go, she turned to Six, ready to say something witty or cute or _something_ , but she stopped when she noticed he was looking _right at her._ She raised an eyebrow and at three seconds, she asked, "Six? Are you okay?"

Two seconds to go and she blinked repeatedly as he leaned down closer to her. She felt her face heat up just a bit, not really sure if Six was about to do what she was _pretty damn sure_ he was about to do.

One second to go, and she brought her hands up to his chest, not in an effort to push him away, but she just...didn't know what else to do.

Then at midnight, he leaned down and she leaned up; their lips coming in contact and she was pretty sure her heart was gonna burst out of her chest. Not only was the kiss surprising and definitely everything she ever wanted, but his hands were suddenly on her hips and she wrapped hers around his neck.

Overall, the kiss only lasted for a few seconds - considering Six was not only not a fan of affection, but such a totally public display of affection was just so _unexpected_ \- but it was still amazing and _wow_ and it actually happened...

As they separated, Six quickly let go of her and her hands slid down from his shoulders to his chest. She let out a small laugh and he smiled in response.

"Um...Happy New Year?"

She smirked up at him. "Yeah, Happy New Year, Six."


	6. 51-60

Okay, after this chapter I'm gonna switch to five fics per post. There's some interesting ones in here, and then there's like, #60 which I'm pretty sure is one of the first fics I wrote for this thing hahaha! So, y'know, grain of salt.

Anyway, enjoy! There's the usual ridiculous amount of Holix, but there's some new stuff in here, too.

 **51\. Troubling Thoughts**  
 **:: Six, Scarecrow :: Alternate** _ **Mind Games**_ **thing. I dunno.**

Six sat patiently in his room. After bringing Dr. Meechum back to losing base, and somehow losing Circe during the pickup, he'd felt the urge to talk to Rex. Some...foreign, paternal urge. He wanted to tell the kid they'd find his girlfriend and it'd be fine.

He wasn't sure where it came from. He knew he and Rex used to be close, just from his first day after losing his memory, and the week after that before Rex disappeared. It even came up during those six months; Holiday had mentioned that Six was a sort of father-figure for Rex.

He had never pictured himself a father. He supposed with all the sleeping around he did in his earlier years - he _could_ be, but hoped not. He always used protection, after all.

A knock at the door brought him out of his mental tangent. He stood up and opened it, revealing an uncomfortable-looking Dr. Holiday. She was playing with her hands and not looking at him.

"...you need something?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

After a second of what seemed to be thinking it over, the doctor closed her eyes and exhaled loudly. "Um - yeah. Six, I need to talk to you."

Eyebrow didn't move. "About?"

"About...us," she responded, still not looking at him.

That was probably one of the last things he expected her to say - and suddenly his heart was beating unnaturally fast. Six blinked at her repeatedly behind his sunglasses, unsure if his ears were as red as they felt. "I, uh...what do you mean?"

He didn't know what to think of the pitying look that immediately appeared on her face. She lightly shoved past him and into his room, standing near his bed. He followed her with his eyes and let the door shut behind him.

He stayed silent and stared at her until she sighed again and turned to him.

"Look, Six...Rex mentioned that you might have...um..." Playing with her hands again. Face looking unsure. Six was pretty sure she could hear his heartbeat. "... _feelings_ , for me. Like...um...romantic ones."

He didn't respond. How _could_ he respond? It was...well, it was true, but he wasn't about to act on it.

Realistically, though, he wanted to know what she was going to say. Was she going to reject him? Or perhaps say it's mutual? Why was she bringing this up now? Did something happen?

Holiday must've taken his silence as an affirmation as she continued. "I just, um...I'm sorry. I don't want to have led you on or anything...I know you're not great with people, so maybe things I've done might seem like there's something between us...but there's not."

There was suddenly a piercing, shattering sound, followed by her last two words in an echo. _There's not, there's not, there's not._ He, of course, like the clod he was, stayed silent still.

She gave him that pitying look again - he really didn't think it was a good facial expression for her - and reached forward to pat his arm. "I'm _really_ sorry...I just, um...of course I like you a lot, but we're just partners, y'know? Friends. Uh, pals! Um...so...yeah."

She stared at him for a few seconds, hoping for some sort of verbal reaction. Well, she got a nod instead.

"So...are you gonna be okay?"

Her hand was still on his arm. It was starting to feel like she was poisoning him with her touch. He just nodded again, making her smile that smile he loved.

"Okay, great! I really don't want things to be awkward or anything. Just, um, keep up the good work! Later, Six!" And out the door she went.

After the door closed, Six absentmindedly stared at it for a minute or two before sitting down on his bed. He'd never been one hundred percent sure about Holiday's feelings, but he'd been pretty sure there was... _something_ , but then...she just...

Offhandedly, he realized that sound he heard earlier, the one she obviously didn't hear, was probably his heart breaking. Normally he'd go see a doctor, but, well...a bit out of the question, now.

 **52\. Stirring of the Wind**  
 **:: Scarecrow, Black Knight**

"Do you understand your assignment?"

" _Perfectly._ Now, normally I accept half payment before the job and half after, but since this involves _Rex_ , I don't mind waiting."

"That's fine. Just make sure-"

"-that I mess with all of them, don't worry 'bout it. From what you told me, these two will be easy to screw with. Unrequited love is _hilarious._ "

"And him?"

"I've got a plan for him, don't sweat it. Once these two and _Rex_ have had their heads properly messed with, he'll fall with them."

"Don't underestimate him, Scarecrow."

"I never underestimate, _Black Knight._ I always know _exactly_ what I'm up against."

 **53\. Future**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

Six was pacing. He was _nervous._ He'd never been so nervous before. Alright, maybe there were some occasions - like the first time he'd asked Holiday out, or the first time they'd kissed, or the first time they'd had sex - but this was an entirely new level of nervousness.

They'd discussed the possibility for a while - a couple months, he was pretty sure - but just the idea of _him_ in such a situation...it was uncanny. One would be laughing (but maybe also a little proud). Dos would be scowling. Trey and Five would bother him with questions and IV would go back to coughing up his lungs without a word.

It was just. Wow. Would Holiday be happy about it? He was pretty confident she would, but...there was always that little possibility that she would surprise him and be upset. It always seemed like something she was interested in. It _definitely_ seemed like something she was interested in, with the way she was always watching those movies where the happy couple gets married and has kids and lives happily ever after.

So, alright, that wasn't the future for them, but he could give her part of it, at least. But he was still scared. Scared completely shitless. And he needed Rebecca to hurry up and come back to him and tell him what was going to happen next.

Realizing all this pacing wasn't helping at all, Six just plopped down on her (their) bed and waited. She'd be back soon and give him the answer he wanted. Hopefully.

And there she was, just a few minutes later - Rebecca emerged from the bathroom and smiled before leaning down and kissing him deeply, pushing Six back so he was lying on the bed with her on top of him.

Six just raised an eyebrow at her and Holiday continued to smile.

"It's positive. We're having a baby."

 **54\. Health and Healing**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

He groaned and slowly opened his eyes to get a nice view of Holiday's worried face. Well, hopefully that meant he wasn't dead - no matter how dead he _felt._ God, his head hurt and he felt like he couldn't breathe and it was _so hot_. And yet, so...cold? What?

Her mouth moved frantically and he could definitely hear some noises that sounded like her voice. But Six couldn't really make out what she was saying. He _could_ make out the cold, wet rag being placed on his forehead - it felt good. Probably wouldn't help much in the long run, but it felt good.

Not knowing how to respond to what he couldn't hear, Six just turned his head and grunted at her. He could feel Holiday's hands move to his face and one slowly moved to his chest - oh, he was shirtless apparently - stopping where his heart was. Good old Holiday, she knew just what to do.

Speaking of shirtlessness, he realized that Holiday didn't have the green tint she usually did. His sunglasses were missing. And his toes were free, too. Was he even wearing pants? Why would he be naked? Sure, Holiday was a doctor, but she had no right to strip him down. Not for that reason, anyways. Ha.

Six squinted his eyes closed again. What the hell happened? He was down to his shorts and Holiday still sounded frantic and he was still feeling very cold and very warm at the same time. He unsquinted, but didn't open his eyes back up, figuring that the light would make it harder to concentrate. He needed to remember what happened. Cold and hot. Head hurt. Couldn't breathe. Clothes removed. Prickling feeling starting to take over his fingers.

From what he knew, that sounded like someone fell into freezing cold water. Did _he_ do that? Didn't sound like him. But...the memory was familiar. Fighting with Rex in the freezing cold. At some point they were on top of an icy lake. The EVO knocked Six over and...the ice cracked. They fell through. He must've passed out from the pressure and Rex pulled him out of the water. That kid better've finished off the EVO, too.

No wonder Holiday seemed so worried. He almost died. And she wouldn't have been able to do anything about it, since he couldn't un-drown like Rex could. What a stupid way to go _that_ would've been.

When Six re-opened his eyes, Holiday was gone. And with the following thoughts in his head - where'd she go? why'd she leave? was she taken? - Six managed to painfully sit himself upright. He blinked multiple times and breathed heavily while trying to stay conscious. Where was Rex? Was he alright? Must've been, or Six would be dead.

After another moment, he could hear Holiday's footsteps coming towards him, and when (he assumed) she saw him up, they moved faster and faster until her arms were around his neck. Fortunately she remembered his breathing trouble and didn't squeeze too tight. The contact was nice, though, and the skin-to-skin contact with her hands and face actually warmed him up a bit.

She started asking him questions - Six couldn't understand what she was saying, but he could clearly hear the tone of her voice - and he shook his head with a hand gently rubbing it. Holiday's hands went back to his face and started rubbing his skin. She was so warm. And he felt so cold...but his head felt _so hot._ How long had he been out? What happened? Six opened his mouth in an attempt to verbalize his questions, but all that came out was a hoarse cough.

Holiday made a face and ran away again - less than a minute later she was back with what was clearly some hot tea. Six gave her a smile as she brought it up to his lips and the first sip was enough to get his blood flowing again.

He reached up and grabbed the cup - it felt _so nice_ \- and took a couple more gulps before letting loose another coughing fit and turning towards the doctor.

"...what...happened?"

She started to speak again and Six put a hand up, stopping her. He still couldn't understand what she was saying. Was this a permanent thing? He really hoped not, and quickly smacked himself in the side of the head. After that, he popped his ears. _Then_ he motioned for her to speak.

"...can you hear okay? Rex pulled you out of the Delaware River. Do you remember anything?" She still sounded frantic, but at least he could make out the words that time.

Six nodded. "Did-did Rex...get the EVO?"

"Yes," Holiday responded. "He got you out, then got the EVO, then came back here worried sick about you, then I sent him off so I could monitor you without distraction."

He frowned. "How long was...I out?"

Holiday seemed to hesitate for a few moments before looking back at him. "38 hours."

Almost choking on the tea, Six gave her a wide-eyed look. Being out for _that_ amount of time meant...he'd been in a coma? _Again?!_

"I already told Rex that you woke up, he'll probably be here to see you soon," Holiday said quickly. "I'm...I'm so glad you're alright, Six."

His expression turned soft as Six realized that Holiday had been monitoring him for the entire past thirty-eight hours. She had serious bags under her eyes and her hair was a mess. He almost reached forward to grab one of her hands, but stopped himself. Too touchy-feely.

"Me too," Six said while staring down at her hand. "I've really got to not let that happen again."

 **55\. Separation**  
 **:: Holiday, Six, Five**

"Oh God - _Beverly!_ How could I forget to make proper arrangements for her?!"

Six watched her pace around the room in their newly acquired base. They'd recently fled Providence and everything was suddenly hitting Holiday harder than even Six thought it would.

"Holiday, she'll be fine. She's not an EVO so they won't touch her."

"But she _was_ an EVO! She's the only cured incurable there is! That's on record at Providence! They might come after her and - oh _God_ \- why didn't I - I'm so - oh God I need to hide her! Or _something!_ Oh, but I don't want to take her out of school, we don't even know how long we'll be here and oh _God_ -!"

As she continued rambling, Six simply stared at her with a raised eyebrow. He hadn't known that. He supposed it wasn't super important information, since she wasn't an EVO anymore - but _still._ He expected to be informed of these things. Either way, though, Holiday was going to dig through the floor if she kept pacing like that.

"Your parents?"

"Out of the picture. And it wouldn't be safe enough, anyways."

Six frowned. He was curious as to what she meant, but didn't think he should push it. "No other relatives?"

The doctor frowned, still walking back and forth. "Not any where she'd be _safe!_ "

He stared at her while she rambled for another minute, before a light bulb seemed to go off in his head and he stood up, grabbing her arm and stopping her from moving. "I think I know someone who could help."

"You do?! Who?!"

He frowned. "I'm going to call her first. Just...stop pacing. It's giving me a headache."

Holiday nodded and he stepped off to the side to make his call.

Six had a feeling she wouldn't listen in, but he couldn't help his habit. The phone only rang twice when a familiar voice with a familiar accent picked up the line.

"What's up, Luv?"

"Five, I need a favor."

He could practically hear her smirk. "Another one? This for yer girlfriend again?"

"...what?" She must've been referring to something that happened before he lost his memory, though...Holiday wasn't his- and she hadn't been before, had she? He was always unsure about her...

Five was probably just trying to push him like usual. Shouldn't think to much on it.

"Oh, that's right, you lost a couple'a years, didn't ya? Well, whatever - spit it out already! What doya need from lil' ol' Five?"

He rolled his eyes. "My... _associate_ , Dr. Holiday, and I are...currently AWOL from Providence-"

"Is that so?"

"...and she's afraid Providence might target her younger sister, Beverly. So she needs someone to-"

"Oh, man, _Six_ , are you bein' serious?"

"..."

"...so that's a yes, then? How old?"

"Mid-teens. Probably fifteen or sixteen."

"She in school?"

"A private school in Ridgecrest - I'm sure she could take online classes."

"Hmm..."

"...so?"

"Alright. But you're gonna owe me big time."

He sighed. "What do you want? I'm a bit tight on cash right now, but-"

"Well, of course it'll cost ya, but you're also gonna hafta invite me to yer weddin', alright?"

"..."

"..."

"...my _what?_ "

"Your weddin'! Wit' that pretty doctor. Sheesh, how long is this gonna take ya?"

"I don't- uh, I don't know what you're talking about."

She laughed. "Sure ya don't. Alright - tell your not-girlfriend to give her baby sis some proper warning - you know I don't like waiting."

"Thanks, Five."

"Yeah, yeah."

He turned towards Holiday, who was looking at him and playing with her hands. "So...?"

"She'll take care of Beverly for you."

Her face brightened so much, and she tried to stop herself from hugging him, but her arms still somehow found their way around his neck. He didn't hug back, but she never really expected him to. "Thank you!" Pulling back, she realized she didn't know who they were talking about. "So who is it, anyway?"

"An...old associate of mine. Providence won't be able to touch Beverly with Five around, trust me." He hesitated before adding: "Though...if Beverly's ever expressed interest in piercings or tattoos-"

Holiday's eyes widened and a frown was suddenly plastered on her face. Six better not finish that sentence how she thought he would.

"-she might have an easier time getting them with her than with...you."

She almost thought about having Six call Five back and cancel the whole thing, but she took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Alright. No, I-I trust you, Six. I'm sure it'll be fine." She smiled up at him again. "Thank you _so_ much."

He smiled as she started walking away - likely to unpack some of the things she managed to take along. He couldn't help but be slightly more than flattered at what she said - there were very few people that would ever say such that they _trusted_ him. Now he could add one more.

 **56\. Everything For You**  
 **:: Holiday**

After Beverly turned, Rebecca changed. Her thirteen-year-old sister just went from a normal, happy teenage girl into a giant EVO monster. It threw her world upside-down. She was always a bookworm - so interested in science that she got her PhDs in biochemistry, engineering, and nanotechnology. She never realized how glad she'd be for those specific degrees.

After Beverly turned, Rebecca joined Providence. They were holding her little sister - threatening to _kill her_ \- so she couldn't go anywhere else. They were also the foremost organization in handling the capture and study of EVOs. She had no choice.

After Beverly turned, Rebecca met Six and Rex. Rex was her first glimmer of hope that Beverly could be cured. That glimmer disappeared in an _instant_ when she and the other scientists discovered the difference between "curable" EVOs and "incurables." Beverly was incurable. Rex couldn't help.

After Beverly turned, Rebecca had both more and less focus. She focused on Beverly - almost entirely, despite her interest in Six and maternal feelings towards Rex and her absolute hatred for White Knight, Beverly was her purpose for being there. But while focusing on Beverly, she _lost_ focus on other things. Friends. Her parents. All she had was Beverly, Rex, and Six. That's all she could handle. Beverly needed her.

After Beverly turned, Rebecca traveled a lot more. She was from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She went to college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That was the brunt of her travels before graduate school. Providence was in the middle of nowhere, California. Once she worked for Providence, Rebecca attended EVO- and nanite-related conferences and meetings all over the world. She never imagined she'd ever do this much traveling.

After Beverly was cured, Rebecca felt a weight lifted from herself. She was in too deep to leave, but her stress levels went down significantly. Sure - she knew other EVOs. Sure - she knew the crisis wasn't even close to being over. But _Beverly_ being cured - the _first ever cured incurable_ \- was a breakthrough in her field and in her heart. She was able to rest easy for at least one night with the knowledge that Beverly would get to live her normal life again.

 **57\. Slow Down**  
 **:: Dos, One**

The nighttime air was calm - crickets chirping, light wind rustling the leaves, small rodents crawling here and there, but otherwise not a sound could be heard. And that's the way he liked it.

Having recently turned 30, Ismael Guerra was eager to prove his abilities to any and all citizens who wanted to procure him for his...skills. In this market he'd found himself in for the past ten-or-so years, Ismael was finding himself overtaken by younger men and women, ones who utilized technology or other, crazier weaponry. As of that moment, he was satisfied with his sword. It was thin, to the point where it could not be seen in certain lights, and could slice a man in half if he so wished it to.

And he _did_ so wish to that very night - the fat, rich, corrupt man sleeping in the room Ismael was staring at was about to have his life ended. No message included - buyer asked for a quick death. Painless if possible. Ismael had no trouble with that, he supposed. He would simply sneak in, cut the throat, and leave. Messy, but quick.

Just as he was about to step down and start his first step, Ismael took note of a shadowy figure on top of the building. _That_ could be a problem. That person was a potential witness. Had they spotted him already? Ismael was not a man to keep his clients waiting – tonight was when he'd promised to have this done and so he would have it done, whether he had to kill another or not. But the witness had to go first.

He grabbed a branch above his own and started to climb, high enough to make out if the shadowy figure was still present. Yes, they were. Ismael hopped to the rooftop of the building and stomped on a small twig to make his presence known. The other man on the rooftop turned around to stare at him.

Ismael immediately took note of every identifying feature. Dark skin – he was Pakistani, maybe? Somewhere in that region – his head was shaved, a tattoo of the number one on his bicep, which Ismael could only see because the man had removed his black leather jacket to reveal a white short-sleeve shirt underneath. Standard blue jeans, brown boat shoes. The man seemed…for the most part, extremely average. Nothing threatening about him.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" the man said quietly – just loud enough for Ismael to hear that there was no fear in the man's voice. He didn't know who he was dealing with.

"I want nothing from you, _Desconocido,_ " Ismael answered.

The man paused. "If…you do not know me, then why have you followed me here?"

Ismael scrunched his eyebrows. "I did not follow you. I am here on business. Why are you sneaking around up here?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "I am…" He paused before pulling a small knife out of his jacket pocket. "…here to kill Mr. Ramirez."

Ismael felt his anger flare. " _Qué?_ You are…that is what-!" He almost gave away too much information. And what was with this man in front of him? Just saying something like that? Was he an old man just starting into the game? Or was he so overconfident that he would say such a thing? "Who hired you?"

The man smirked. "Now _that_ is not information I'm willing to share. So I was right – you are also here to kill him?"

Ismael glared and pulled out his sword. After a second of making sure no one was watching them, he burst forward and started to attack the stranger. The man backed away, narrowly escaping Ismael's strokes.

"Did you predict _that_ as well?"

The man smirked and stretched his arms. " _You,_ my friend, really need to slow down. You seem stressed. Perhaps you've become too old for this sort of work?"

Ismael frowned. "I am not your elder – _you_ are the one who should be worried about his age. _And_ his life."

The man continued to stretch. "Right, of course. But I suppose I should warn you first…" He flexed his arm. "You see this number one right here? Just a word of advice…I _earned_ this number."

Ismael practically rolled his eyes. "Por supuesto. And I suppose you are going to tell me how you did that?"

"Remember last month when the body of Jesús Chavez appeared all over the news, covered in stab wounds?"

Ismael's skin crawled. Chavez had been _the_ top assassin. Not just in Spain, but in the _world._ His death was a shock to criminals and police alike. And this…this fool of a man in front of him-?!

The man smiled. "That was not my finest work. But my client found his murder of children to be quite despicable. And so did I."

Ismael felt the urge to spit. "You claim to be the one who killed Chavez? Who do you think you are?"

He flexed again. "Can't you read? I am _One_."

 **58\. Lesson**  
 **:: Circe, Van Kleiss**

"I-I'm not sure about-"

" _Do as I say._ "

"I'm sorry, it just…I don't know what I'm doing! How can I-"

"Open your mouth and scream. _Now._ "

"But Van Kleiss, I-"

" _I_ could take you back to the street I grabbed you off of! Circe, you will do as I say or go back to starving!"

"…yes, Van Kleiss."

Circe ran a hand through her hair and bit her lip. _Open your mouth and scream._ He made it sound so simple, but it just _wasn't._ And it hurt like hell to do it. But if he helped her learn how to turn it on and off, he had to know what he was talking about, right? Right.

She took a deep breath and, facing an already collapsing wall of the castle, started to yell – and immediately felt her skin start to transform and twist into the mutation she hated so much. Circe felt the vibrations shoot from her throat and into the wall, shaking it until it started to fall apart right in front of her.

Barely, over the sound of her own screams, she heard Van Kleiss shout the word _"Louder!"_ Louder? Could she _get_ louder?

She tried, and she _could._ The wall started shaking even more noticeably and Circe was afraid the whole room would collapse in on them. At that point, maybe it would. She heard Van Kleiss speak again, but couldn't make out what he said. All she knew what that she couldn't _stop._ She couldn't breathe. She felt like she was going to cry.

The ceiling started to shake and break into pieces as well, and Circe moved her eyesight upwards to protect herself. As a particularly large chunk of ceiling started heading her way and she considered that this might be exactly what she deserves, a bright, red, swirling light appeared next to her and she was pulled into it by two large white hands – a second later she was outdoors and knocking over trees with her ever-continuing screams.

"Shut it off," Van Kleiss said, now right next to her ear.

She moved her hands around her disgusting, mutant mouth and pressed against the skin, practically clawing it to try and stop it. She was running out of oxygen. Would she pass out before she died, or would the screams continue even then?

"Shut it _off!_ " he screamed, grabbing the back of her hair.

Circe wrapped her hands around her neck, trying to communicate her lack of air. He didn't seem to understand. He just kept yelling at her to shut it off. Well she _couldn't!_ She couldn't just shut it off! It…she _couldn't_ ….she…

…she couldn't breathe. Everything was turning black and she couldn't think or breathe or talk. She cried and wished the ceiling had fallen on her after all. Van Kleiss screaming her name – not in concern, but very much in anger – was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

She opened her eyes slowly. Breach was staring down at her – _creepy._ Circe turned her head to see Van Kleiss giving Biowulf orders on the other side of the room. Well, she was alive, apparently. Good to know. Van Kleiss was also seemingly unphased by her passing out – did he know she couldn't breathe and just didn't do anything about it?

Van Kleiss glanced over and saw Circe moving. "Breach, step away from her," he said while walking over.

With Breach gone, Circe slowly sat up and rubbed her head before looking up at Van Kleiss. "I'm…I'm sorry, Van Kleiss. I couldn't do it."

Van Kleiss rolled his eyes. "This is why you are _practicing_ , Circe. So that you _can_ do it. If you pass out a few times, so be it. You _will_ learn to properly control this ability of yours. Only _then_ will I consider you a member of The Pack. You have two weeks before I send you back." He stared down at her for another moment before walking away.

Circe kept her eyes locked on him. Two weeks. Two weeks to master this curse the Nanite Event had placed on her. She would have to practice nonstop to get it right. And that's exactly what she was going to do.

 **59\. Challenged**  
 **:: Annie, Claire**

"I'm totally hopeless, Claire! Every guy I go out with ends up getting maimed or in the hospital or _worse!_ "

Claire sat next to her best friend. "Yeah…I'm gonna miss Jeffrey."

"And Rex was really nice, but he has a girlfriend and I don't wanna get in the way of that!" she whined. "How come every guy I date is so klutzy?! I thought it might be me but _you_ seem to be doing just fine so I don't understand how this keeps happening!"

Claire shrugged. "Annie, you just gotta keep trying! Someday you'll meet a guy who doesn't fall all over himself around you."

"Just-! Ugh…it's so _hopeless_ , Claire," Annie leaned her chin into her hands. " _I'm_ totally hopeless."

"Hey, hey! You're not hopeless!" Claire picked up Annie's face to look at her in the eyes. "You're just… _challenged_ , is all. But challenges are made to be beat! So pick yourself up and we'll find you a new, tougher guy that can handle all that you've got to offer!"

Annie smiled. "…okay, okay. Thanks, Claire."

 **60\. Exhaustion**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

He was exhausted to the _core_. Every bone and muscle ached. It felt like there were bruises on all of his bruises and that was just the _beginning_. Six rolled his shoulders, hoping to somewhat alleviate the pain, yet instead he only increased it. He continued, hoping the effect would change, but after a few more rolls he quickly stopped and squeezed his right shoulder with the opposite hand.

It'd been an excruciatingly long day of fighting EVOs, and the agent was ready for a hot shower and a good sleep when he returned - bloody and bruised and clothes all ripped - from all the missions and fighting of the day. But _no_ , Holiday had to give him a check-up. After seeing his condition, she pretty much _demanded_ that he be in her lab at 9 'o clock sharp, or he'd be in for an earful when she found him.

Six decided, in all his wisdom and quick decision-making, that he'd show up early, see if he could get this out of the way _now_ and just head to that bed he'd been so longing for. When he entered the room, however, Holiday was nowhere to be found. He was a bit surprised; Holiday was _never_ late, and though she still had ten minutes, where would she have gone?

He wrinkled his eyebrows. She'd probably just gone to the bathroom. His delusional mind was gonna try to tell him that she was in trouble every time he didn't know where she was, wasn't it? Well, that was just one more reason he needed to sleep.

Glancing down at a relatively comfy-looking swivel chair in the lab, Six promptly plopped his butt down on it and relaxed himself, leaning back. Holiday could wake him up when she got here. And with that thought, he dozed off, hoping she didn't make a lot of noise when she returned.

And only two minutes later, Dr. Rebecca Holiday strolled into her lab, clipboard in hand, ready to examine Six and let him get to bed. Upon arrival, however, she quickly noticed the man sleeping in her chair. With a raised eyebrow, she realized that she'd never seen him asleep before - he was always so paranoid and alert that he would wake up at even the slightest noise.

So, in an effort to do just that, she clacked down especially hard with her boots as she walked over to him. Reaching him, and noticing that he was still asleep, Holiday quickly grew concerned and leaned her ear very close to his mouth.

Yup, still breathing.

She pulled back and looked at him with a confused expression. Not only was she walking as loud as she could, but she was very much in his personal space bubble and _he still wasn't waking up!_ He must've been worse off than she initially imagined.

Considering it for a moment, Rebecca decided that Six's check-up could wait until he was awake and functional. Though he'd be in a mess of pain if he stayed sleeping on that tiny chair. Obviously she couldn't just pick him up and move him, but hopefully she could create even a small amount of consciousness and get him to move.

She lightly shook his shoulder. " _Six,_ " she said quietly. " _Six! Wake up!"_

He made a small noise and she smiled, shaking him again. "Six, you can't stay on that chair. Your back is gonna kill you tomorrow if you do."

His eyes squinted open and, on seeing her face, he smiled just the tiniest bit. "Mm...Doctor...I'm fine..."

She couldn't help but blush just a small amount when he smiled at her. Such an act was so rare and on such a random occasion, she couldn't help but be surprised. She reached down and tugged on his arm in an attempt to get him to stand up. " _C'mon Six...you don't have to go back to your room. But you could at least use the couch over in the break room._ "

Another indistinguishable noise and he reacted to her tugging by returning the favor - he grabbed her wrist and tugged her down to him. With the unexpected tug, she fell forward, now sitting on his lap with her other hand on his shoulder. She blushed again and stood back up, tugging his arm even harder.

"Six...Rex is getting himself into serious trouble! Bobo's with him, too!"

As she hoped, that sentence actually made Six's eyes squint open, and he quickly stood up, still holding on to her arm. "I...hm...Rex? Or..." He looked down at the woman in front of him. "...Holiday?"

She grabbed his other arm to steady him and held back a smirk at how odd it was to see the agent like this. "Yeah, Six. Let's get you on that couch, okay?"

His eyebrows furrowed and he grimaced a bit. "...rather...my bed."

"Right, of course you would," she responded, rolling her eyes. She headed out the door, tugging him beside her and headed in the direction of his room. "I don't think I've ever seen you this tired, Six."

He grunted and leaned on her a little extra before straightening up and continuing the perilous journey to his room.

"There's no way you're getting enough sleep."

She swore she heard an almost amused snort come from the man beside her, and in turning to him he smirked. "You're...one to talk..."

She smirked back. "Point taken. But I'm not out there all day fighting EVOs. If you're even a little tired you could slip up and get hurt, Six."

He frowned. "Just as...dangerous...slipping up...in the lab..."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"The lab. If you're...tired...could mess up...get hurt..."

Holiday could barely make out his mumbles, but she understood his main point. "Yes, well...I've been doing better about not staying up too late."

The agent grunted. She assumed that meant he was content with her response.

"And look at that, Six - we're at your door. Now just type in the code and you'll be rid of me for the night."

His sleepy eyes stared down at the keypad and, in what seemed to be a ridiculously huge effort, he lifted his arm and slowly typed in his code, in his tired state allowing Holiday to see and learn it.

0318\. It was probably a date. She briefly wondered if that was his birthday - but it seemed unlikely considering he didn't celebrate it. Or at least he never told her about celebrating it.

As the door slid open, she stored that curiosity for later, and practically dragged Six into his room. Closing the door behind them, she got him to his bed, and sighed.

"Finally here! Now aren't you glad I was around to help you out, Six?"

Rather than verbally respond, Six fell forward on to his bed, unintentionally taking Holiday with him. She squeaked as she landed on the mattress, Six's arm overtop of her shoulders making it almost impossible for her to get up. She blushed again - Six should never, _ever_ be this tired again - and squirmed a bit, which just caused him to wrap his arm around her completely and squeeze her tight.

Her mind was racing with thoughts of how totally _weird_ and _inappropriate_ and _embarrassing_ and so many other adjectives that this situation was, but in the end she figured she'd have to accept the fate that being a good person had left her with. In the morning, she knew Six would be more distant and uncomfortable towards her than usual, but hey - she got him to bed and that's what mattered.

Closing her eyes, she snuggled a bit closer to the agent and started to fall asleep.


	7. 61-65

OKAY we're moving on to five fics per chapter! 'Cause unfortunately I still have, like, three fics left to write. Whoops, hahahaha. Anyway these ones are pretty long, so enjoy!

 **61\. Impressions**  
 **:: Six, Holiday, Noah's mom**

"I still don't understand the point of this."

"Oh, come on - Rex needs to socialize more! And I don't have time to teach him everything he needs to know."

Six scoffed. "Needs to know? Doctor, this is a high school. Nothing he'll learn here is important. And Rex socializes plenty."

She sighed in response. "Look, Six, just because _you_ didn't go to high school and _you_ don't socialize doesn't mean Rex has to do the same."

The only response she got was a loud sigh as they entered the large building with "Benjamin Franklin High School" engraved on a plaque out front. Unfortunately for him, Holiday could immediately tell when Six has tensed up upon seeing how many people were scurrying through the hallways.

"You didn't _have_ to come, Six," she said quietly, offering him an out if he was so uncomfortable.

He hesitated, considering it, but instead grabbed the schedule out of her hands and looked it over. "He takes Spanish?"

She rolled her eyes. "He _needs_ to take Spanish."

Shrugging, the agent handed back their ward's schedule and started walking to where the classroom would be. Holiday followed closely, not being able to help herself from glancing in the rooms they passed.

As they arrived, Six noticed with a twitch of his eyebrow that the door was propped open. That was one of the basic rules of safety - always close your door. How could they not know this? And this was a night when strangers to the school were allowed to roam throughout. He already wasn't liking this place.

Holiday strolled past him, ignoring him glaring at the door for who knows what reason, and was suddenly relieved that she didn't have time to change after work. There was actually another person - a man, probably in his mid-thirties - who was wearing a labcoat. She smiled at that and looked around the room.

"...the professor-er, the teacher isn't here?"

Six moved his head to motion in the direction of the whiteboard up front. It said " _I'm going to be a few minutes late - feel free to socialize and eat some snacks!_ "

She frowned. "I'm not here to meet kids' _parents_ , I just want to make sure Rex will be properly educated here."

Six rolled his eyes. "It's a _public high school,_ Dr. Holiday."

"Y'know what, Six?" she started, turning around and poking him in the chest. " _I_ went to a public high school! And wouldn't you know it - I had a good education. So let's not automatically assume that it's-"

"Dr. Holiday! Agent Six!"

The two of them turned around to face an older blonde woman, her husband not-surprisingly absent. "Oh, Mrs. Nixon! I didn't know Noah was taking Spanish."

"Well he _was_ taking German, but I think he decided to switch because of Rex."

The doctor smiled. "Oh, that's so cute of him."

As they chatted a bit, Six discovered a few parental eyes take notice of him and his associate from the snack table on the other side of the room. He twitched, instinctively stepping a bit closer to Dr. Holiday, and turned towards her and Noah's mother.

He was about to interrupt them, not caring if he seemed rude, when a few overweight white women strolled up to them. They were looking more at Dr. Holiday than at Six, which, rather than ease his discomfort, made it worse.

Holiday paused in conversation, having noticed the women, and turned to them. "Um...hi?"

One of them smiled brightly and held out her hand. "Hi, hello, yes, um...we were curious, are you the teacher? Or are you a parent?"

Holiday frowned. Did she look like a teacher? This wasn't a chemistry class. "Not the teacher. I'm, um...a parent, I suppose."

Another one of the women stepped forward. "How _old_ are you?"

Holiday raised an eyebrow. She hadn't associated with civilians in _years_. This interaction made her realize that she didn't really miss it. "I'm, uh...31."

The women paused, eyes wide, and looked at each other, then back to Holiday, then over to Six, then back to Holiday.

"So...is this the father, then?"

Rebecca, completely surprised by the question, felt herself blush. She was sure her entire face had turned red. "I- _no_ , I'm not-"

Six, having gotten used to people assuming things about his and Dr. Holiday's relationship over the years (Providence soldiers seem to think that, since he was a _man_ , he'd have no problem sharing details about his relationship with Dr. Holiday. Not that they _had_ one, but even if they did...), stepped in and shook his head.

"We're Rex's _guardians_ , not his parents," he answer for her, leaving the women to nod their heads in understanding.

" _That_ makes so much more sense. You were right, Kathy!" the one said, turning towards the other women and starting up their gossip again. Apparently they were no longer interested in the young doctor, who was biting the inside of her cheek.

Mrs. Nixon couldn't help but laugh, and grabbed Dr. Holiday's arm, pulling her towards the snack table and away from Six and those women. Six decided he'd just wait outside the door of the room so he could sufficiently _glare_ at the teacher when she arrived. He already had very little respect for this woman - this _Señora Rodriquez_.

Holiday poured herself a cup of fruit punch and drank it rather bitterly. "I can't believe they thought I had a fifteen-year-old. Do I look like the type of person to have a kid in high school?!"

Mrs. Nixon let out another chuckle, grabbing herself a cookie. "Come on, Rebecca, you know you don't. Those women were obviously just confused. But - that being said, you and Six still aren't together, right?"

Holiday rolled her eyes. "No, we're not. And what do you mean ' _still_ '?"

"Nothing, nothing!" the woman defended, holding up her hands. "But I figured you might wanna know about the man in the labcoat - I _know_ you noticed him. Name's Richard Johnson, he's a scientist, only has this one kid, and he's _single._ "

Rebecca glared at the woman she was only...somewhat friends with. "Carolyn, _please_ , I don't have time for-"

"Don't give me that, Rebecca! Even with the EVOs everywhere, you're still aging just the same. And trust me when I say you're definitely his typ-hey! He's walking this way!"

Rebecca glared even harder, concern evident on her face. "Oh God, we're not in high school, Carolyn, I'm not-"

"We are _in_ a high school, though! I'll go see what Agent Six is up to!" And at that, she hopped away, leaving Rebecca awkwardly standing there as the tall man walked up to her.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier. You're Rex's guardian? The kid from Providence?"

She blinked, not expecting the question. "Um...yes, I am."

He smiled, grabbing her hand. "Then _you_ must be the famous Dr. Holiday," he leaned down and brought her hand up, kissing it in such a cliché way that Holiday couldn't help but smile. "I've been following your publicized work for years. It's all _fascinating_. I was especially intrigued by your article about..."

As they continued their conversation, Holiday eager to chat with someone who actually held such an interest in her work, Six was dragged back into the room by Mrs. Nixon.

"Oh, don't worry so much, Six. Noah told me Se _ñ_ ora Rodriquez is always late to class."

He made an unsatisfied face. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

She shrugged. "I guess not. Though I-...wow."

He raised an eyebrow, following the direction of her eyes. It seemed the teacher had arrived. And, even being himself, he had to admit that " _wow_ " was right.

She had long, black, curly hair and just the right amount of makeup to accentuate her best features - along with an outfit that Six should've found inappropriate, but somehow she still made it look professional.

Oh, no, Rex would not learn a _thing_ from a woman like this. He'd be much too busy drooling. Sure, Rex learned a decent amount from Dr. Holiday while being attracted to her, but he was used to Holiday. _This_ woman was...

He ignored the rest of his thoughts, opting instead to look around for Dr. Holiday. When he found her, she seemed to be finishing up a very animated conversation with what seemed to be another doctor. As the man handed her a piece of paper and started to walk away, Six couldn't help but notice a small smile and side glance sent from Holiday to this other doctor.

Well, that explained what was on the piece of paper. He suddenly felt even more uncomfortable. Perhaps his reason to be here - making sure that Rex's teachers wouldn't mistreat him for being an EVO - wasn't a good enough reason to waste three hours in this uncomfortable, confined space. Dr. Holiday was a good judge of character, she could handle that herself.

With that in mind, he stepped next to the doctor. "I'm going to head back to base. I'll be back at 8 to pick you up."

She blinked, surprised. "O-oh, um...alright. Don't be late, okay?"

He nodded, satisfied with her lack of argument, and walked out the door.

Now sitting in a chair, only somewhat listening to the _ridiculously gorgeous_ teacher, Mrs. Nixon noticed Six sneak out the door. She frowned and looked over to Dr. Holiday, who had an eyebrow raised - probably confused as to why Six left.

She brought a hand up to her mouth, suppressing a laugh. That woman was pretty oblivious, wasn't she?

 **62\. Irregular Orbit**  
 **:: Six, Rex, Holiday :: Next in the** _ **When EVOs Attack!**_ **Series. Another player has been added to the game!**

It was supposed to be a very simple mission. The EVO was reported to be relatively small - only about five feet tall when on its' hind legs. Apparently some people who'd been in contact with it started acting weird after it fired out a shot of gas at them - so the police called in Providence. A little thing. Six and Rex were wearing small gas masks, so they'd be fine.

What they didn't expect, however, was that the _gas_ wasn't actually what the EVO did. As soon as the two agents came in contact with the EVO, it spit out gas everywhere, at least a two hundred foot radius, and Six immediately realized that the gas was a cover for whatever the EVO _actually_ did. They were unprepared. This was gonna be ugly.

" _Six!_ " Rex yelled out, unable to see through the mist. "What's- _hey!"_

Six immediately headed in the direction of Rex's voice, only to find himself knocked off his feet by Rex being thrown his way. As soon as he fell back, both of them were suddenly bathed in a bright light.

The boys both screamed out in pain, and could barely register Holiday's voice yelling out for them on their comm links.

* * *

" _We've got them. They're out cold - but they're breathing. Headed back to base now._ "

" _Good. Keep them sedated - we don't know what it could've done to them. And send some men out to find that EVO!_ "

* * *

Opening his eyes slowly, Rex quickly took in his surroundings. White walls, white furniture, white clothing - yeah, he was in Providence. As much as that was good to know, how'd he get back here? They were in the middle of Wisconsin, last time he checked.

Sitting up, he moved his usual glasswear to the top of his head and rubbed at his eyes.

"You're awake!"

He could hear Holiday's familiar footsteps and looked up, giving her one of his usual smirks. "Worried about me, Doc?"

She immediately frowned, giving him a confused expression. She shrugged it off and smiled at him. "Don't I always?"

He just smiled in response, and loved the fact that Holiday was practically _staring_ at him. She really couldn't take her eyes off. Maybe this would be a good day after all.

"So how are you feeling? That EVO really knocked you guys out...any weirdness at all?"

He leaned over towards her and put a hand under his chin. "Feeling pretty great, actually. In fact, I feel _so_ great, I think we should go grab some dinner to celebrate! I'll even buy! How 'bout it?"

"I-you...what?" Holiday couldn't hold back a blush as she stuttered, looking between the man in front of her and the one starting to wake up in the next bed. "I-I, um...oh! L-look who's up!"

Rex smirked at how _cute_ Holiday was being as she walked over to the figure next to Rex. Her face was still red, but she was obviously trying to ignore his proposition and focus on her other patient.

"Urgh... _Holiday._ What happened? Did they get the EVO?"

Hearing that familiar voice - a little _too_ familiar - Rex turned to look over at Holiday's other patient.

It was...himself?

Rex stared carefully at his double, tilting his head. Holiday and other!Rex were talking for a bit, when other!Rex finally looked over at him. And glared.

"...Doc, why am I looking at myself?" Rex asked suddenly.

"Looking at yourself? What do you-..." she paused, quickly looking back and forth between the two boys. "Oh, you've got to be kidding."

Other!Rex looked down at his hands, then his eyes trailed up his sleeves and eventually he just leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. "Dr. Holiday. Please tell me what's happened isn't what I think it is."

The doctor rubbed a hand against her temple and looked over at whom she thought was Six. "This would explain _so_ much. Rex? Is that you?"

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. Who else would it be?"

Other!Rex glared over at him. "Use your head, Kid! Can you not hear that your voice isn't your normal voice?!"

"My normal...voice?" Now that he thought about it, something didn't sound right...in fact...his voice was familiar, but not his own...it was...

"AY DIOS MIO!" Rex yelled, jumping off the table and heading to the nearest bathroom. As soon as he saw his reflection in the mirror, he screamed again.

 _He was in Six's body._ And that meant _Six_ was in _his_ body! He couldn't stay stuck as a pasty old green guy! How was he supposed to get dates looking like _this?_ Jumping out of the bathroom, Rex ran back over to where Dr. Holiday was talking to Rex's body. Which was inhabited by Six. Apparently.

"You're lucky those soldiers didn't kill that EVO - otherwise I'd have no way to fix this," Holiday said sternly, turning around to see Six's body staring at her.

"Rex, put the sunglasses on," Six commanded, noticing that some of the nearby scientists were staring. "The less people know about this, the better."

Rex followed his own voice's orders, unable to stop himself from watching Holiday leave the room. Six saw his own body showing such obvious interest in the doctor and scowled, a slight redness to his cheeks. "Will you stop that? You need to act like _me_ when there's people around, got it?"

Rex smirked and leaned on the table next to his body. "Yeah, yeah, I get it - but seriously Six, you should've _seen_ how cute she was! Granted, she thought I was _you_ , but that doesn't stop it from being super cute!"

Six slapped a hand against his forehead and sighed. "Just focus on not drawing attention to yourself, alright? Holiday'll have this fixed soon and we can just pretend it never happened."

"Of course, of course," Rex said, still thinking about Holiday.

" _Stop smiling!_ "

 **63\. Cold Embrace**  
 **:: White, Six, OC**

"Where is my husband?"

Six held up his hands. "Calm down. He's alive and he's breathing and he's conscious. He's not injured."

"Then why can't I see him? I...I'd like to see him _now_ , if possible."

He sighed. "We're...working on it. There's just one small problem and...I think he'd rather tell you himself." Six raised an eyebrow as his comm beeped, and pressed a finger to his ear. "Six here."

The woman in front of him stayed silent as Six listed to the person on his comm. She was getting impatient, but this was a government...military-type organization. Even with her Lieutenant ranking in the United States army, she didn't have any authority at this new facility. They had their own rules here.

After a moment, he ended the call and looked back at her. "I'll take you to see him now."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Six left her alone in an entirely white room. The walls were white. The floor was white. The ceiling was white. Her husband was not here. Six told her to just wait there and he'd arrive soon enough. What was going on? Why was everything so secretive if he was okay?

Ten seconds later, a giant video screen lowered and suddenly blipped to show her White Knight's face. She brightened momentarily, then immediately frowned.

"David! You...you look so pale! What's wrong? Where are you?"

White closed his eyes. "Maria. I'm...I'm fine. It's complicated."

"If you're fine, why aren't you out here with me?"

"There was an incident earlier. My body was just seconds away from being ripped apart at the seams." He ignored the horrified look on her face. "...instead, I'm one hundred percent nanite free."

"You...don't have nanites?" she blinked. "That means there's no chance of you going EVO? Ever?"

"Correct."

"Sweetie, that's fantastic! But...why are you-?" She paused and wrinkled her eyebrows as she considered what no-nanites meant.

"I could be reinfected with nanites very easily. Physical contact. Eating something that hasn't been properly monitored."

"...you don't mean-"

"Even just stepping outside of this nanite-free room I had my scientists design could lead me to be contaminated."

"David..."

"To avoid any risk of becoming infected, I have chosen to stay here."

"..."

"Permanently."

Maria closed her eyes and brought her enclosed hands up to her mouth. "Is this...is this really what you want, David? To be alone and trapped in that room for the rest of your life?"

White glared at her. "Yes. I've made this decision, my superiors agree with it. I'm now the only living thing on Earth without nanites and that image will improve Providence's reputation worldwide."

"So this is about Providence's rep?" she asked. "They're just using this condition you're stuck in to give scared people some false hope for the future?"

"False hope?!" White slammed a fist on his desk. "If I'm nanite-free, then so can the next person! And the next! And once we've rid the world of nanites, everything can finally go back to how it was before! How can you consider that _false?!_ "

Maria could feel herself beginning to tear up. She knew this might be the last time she ever interact with her husband and she desperately did not want it to end on such a sour note. "...you're right, David. This is for the best. You stay here. I'll tell Seth where his father is."

"Don't bring him into this, Maria."

"Are you saying he's not relevant, David?! He's your son! You're...you're supposed to be there for him!"

"He's an adult. He hasn't needed either of us for years. I'm...sorry for how this decision will affect you, Maria. I am."

"You sure sound like it."

"This is the best course of action. I'm not arguing with you."

"No, of course not. I'll just leave. It'll make this easier, right?"

White didn't respond, just staring at her with a pitiful look on his face. Maria wanted to slap him. Hug him. Kiss him. All three. She was going to miss him. She turned around and started to head towards the door.

"...Maria, I'm sorry. I don't want things to end like this."

She didn't turn back around to look at him. "I love you, David. This doesn't change that. But I didn't marry you so that I could only see you through a screen."

"...I'm sorry."

"Me too," she finished, walking fully out the door and letting it close behind her.

 **64\. Frost**  
 **:: Six, Rex, Holiday :: This should probably be in my** _ **When EVOs Attack!**_ **Series, but there's no Holix. Well, a little bit of Holix. Okay, that goes with the series. …it goes with ME.**

There was a reason they didn't bring her on missions. Holiday would argue, of course, but Six and Rex lost their focus when something bad happened to her. Six always freezes up, Rex always gets emotional and is unable to keep up his builds, and even White Knight gets a bit more miffed than usual. He's fine with working hazards, but he's come to recognize that Rex doesn't function well without Holiday and Six. He's annoyed by it, but he's been forced to recognize it.

This time, as every time, Holiday wanted to study the EVO. It was potentially one of Van Kleiss', so they understood. White supported it, even. But Six did not. Rex didn't say anything. Bobo was, fortunately, on vacation – no need for his inappropriate quips. Especially considering what happened next.

It wasn't long after they exited the Keep. Rex stepped out, Six stepped out, Holiday stepped out. The EVO was supposed to be relatively small, the witness who called for Providence services said it didn't seem like much…just that it was _freezing_ roads and buildings and people. Buildings weren't a huge issue, but frozen roads meant car crashes and frozen people meant potentially immediate death.

Holiday was lucky. Six made sure she knew that afterwards. When this small, furry creature ran out in front of the group, Rex got into position and Six just sheathed a sword. Holiday had her gun, but the size of the EVO made her feel like Rex and Six would be enough.

Until the EVO opened its mouth. Its mouth opened to be _three times the EVO's size,_ and immediately there was a bright blue light shimmering from inside. Six immediately screamed _"Scatter!_ " at the group so Rex and Holiday followed orders.

The bright blue light shot out, Rex and Six were out of range, but the edge of it grabbed at Holiday's foot. She screeched as her foot was suddenly an ice cube and she fell over flat onto her stomach and arms.

Six and Rex had run to the other side of the blast and started to freak almost immediately. The EVO generated another blast and Rex and Six both ran to get her out of range of the attack. " _Get it away!_ " Six screamed at Rex.

Rex kicked the EVO while Six tried to drag Holiday away, but unfortunately the combined efforts led to the EVO blasting from air to ground and freezing Holiday's legs and torso. She screeched and Six flinched and glared over at Rex.

" _Rex!_ What are you doing?!" He felt Holiday's arms go limp in his grip and he leaned down to lift her up. "Holiday! Wake _up!_ "

Rex was smashing the tiny EVO under his giant feet and yelling out apologies while Six shook the doctor repeatedly. "Holiday you _need_ to stay awake!" She was still breathing, she was still warm in the face, she was groggy and making some sounds. Six lifted her up and stabbed a sword through the ice block between her legs. It cracked just the way he wanted it to, but obviously she still couldn't move her legs. He needed to do something about this as soon as possible.

"Are you done with it?" Six screamed over at Rex. Rex was already next to him holding the unconscious EVO. "Good. Get it in a sealed cage and find some blankets."

Rex shrugged off his jacket and threw it on Holiday's legs. "Be right back," he said with some hesitation in his voice. Six knew what he was doing, right? No way Holiday would die like this. It was just her legs. Right?

Six took off his jacket, too, and started rubbing them against her legs. They could deal with potential inappropriateness later never, she needed this _now._ "Holiday, grip my shirt so I know you're still awake."

She did just that, gripping her hands around the collar of his white shirt. "Six-"

He almost breathed a sigh of relief. "Holiday, you-"

"I…can't f-feel my legs at all," she murmured. "You need to m-melt the ice. P-Please…"

"I'm…." Six stared down at her legs and noticed nothing was changing. "I'm trying. Do you have any ideas?"

She nodded her head. "Blades...m-magnablades…"

He shook her a bit and kept rubbing her legs. "…the electricity?" There was a reason she had three PhDs. "I…that'd be too dangerous, Holiday. Wait for Rex."

She shook her head. "I-it's not melting like n-normal ice, S-Six."

He lifted the jackets and looked. She was right – the ice hadn't changed at all. He grimaced – Rex getting blankets wasn't going to help, either. Maybe…

Six grabbed his magnablades and lightly chiseled at the ice surrounding her legs. Fortunately, that seemed to be working significantly better than trying to melt the ice. He was going to try breaking it up and hopefully it would just fall off.

Holiday was scrunching her face while he was chiseling – Six desperately hoped this wasn't hurting her. But her legs freezing to the point of paralysis was worse than some cuts or ice burn. And where the hell was Rex?

Speak think of the devil, Six suddenly felt the force of four blankets hitting him in the head and back. His sunglasses flew off and landed on the other side of Holiday. He growled and pulled them from his back and put them around Holiday's shoulders while he continued to chisel at her legs.

"Sorry, Six – wait, why aren't you putting them on her legs?" Rex slid on his knees and swung to Holiday's other side.

"Wasn't working. The ice doesn't melt. But it does break," Six said quickly. "Keep her awake while I do this, I need to focus."

"Right, okay, um, hey Doc!" Rex looked over at Holiday, who was still clutching Six's shirt. "Are you…um…feeling warmer at all?"

She exhaled with a small smile. "…a b-bit."

Rex smiled back. "Sorry you got caught in that. Six is probably gonna give you a mouthful when we get back to base."

"P-Probably. He'll still b-be wrong," she said.

Six rolled his eyes while they kept talking. He had a big chunk of the ice off of her legs, so best scenario was happening: she was going to be okay. Unless the ice had some other, more permanent effect. He desperately hoped not.

"So she's just sleeping, right? She's not...gonna die...right?"

Six sighed. "Right. She's not going to die. As far as we know, anyway. She'll be looked at when we get back to base."

"Are you gonna tell White about this?"

"...yes, I am," Six said, turning to look at his ward. "He needs to be updated on our mission status."

Rex rubbed the back of his neck. "What if White doesn't want Holiday going on missions anymore?"

Six rolled his eyes. "Then she won't be going on missions anymore. Until she nags White's ear off and gets the privilege back. You know Holiday - it won't be long."

"Yeah, that's true," Rex said with a nod. "I'm gonna go check on her, then..."

"Don't wake her up."

"No problem!" Rex ran towards the medical bay of their ship.

With Rex gone, Six took a moment to slump in his seat and take off his sunglasses. They-er, _Rex_ almost lost Holiday there. He wouldn't function right without Holiday. No one else could comfort the kid like she did. And if that meant she wouldn't be allowed to join them on a few missions, so be it. She could yell at them through their earpieces like usual. And he'd have no problem with that.

 **65\. A Moment in Time**  
 **:: Six, Holiday, Xanubian**

((Okay, some background 'cause I'm not gonna write out this whole thing hahaha. This is an excerpt from an alternate finale that I thought would've been more interesting…this particular segment has Holix which the finale was lacking in B) I'm JK, the finale wasn't bad, but imagine instead of combining the consortium together so Rex could take them on at once, every ally Rex had ever made coming back and grouping off to take out the consortium one by one all at the same time.

More like the ending of Motorcity or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. 'Cause my favorite kind of finale is when every character comes together to help take out the bad guy and _everyone_ gets a final chance to shine. Unfortunately, GenRex didn't offer that kind of ending and I was disappointed. So here's a very, very Holix-y section of this fake ending which I will never write in full 'cause I'm a lazy mofo.))

Grunts were running every which way through the cargo bay. Grabbing parachutes by the dozen, shouting orders, preparing to go down to find whichever consortium member they'd tracked down most recently and were getting close to. They'd already sent Rex after Black Knight, Rex's friends from Hong Kong and a large group of grunts went after Roswell, and White Knight, Bobo Haha, Captain Callan, and an even larger group of grunts went for Haden-Scott.

Holiday was a combination of worried and confident that Rex could take down Black Knight on his own – without that Feakins guy around to mess with Rex's powers, he could've done it already. So she was only worried in the sense that she was always worried about him. She'd been venting her worries to Six, who was initially going after the next one on his own, but Holiday demanded he have at least one other person with him. He was only human, after all. And she was pleasantly surprised that he asked her to be the one to join him.

Six, ever since this had been formally planned out and they were hovering over exactly where they needed to be dropped, was completely silent. He was clearly in deep thought about _something_ , Holiday assumed it was the fact that this next fight…could be his last. It could the last fight for any and all of them. It was frightening, but important to face facts.

Hoping to clear the air, Holiday walked over to Six and put a hand on his arm. "You getting yourself all mentally prepared?"

"You could say that," Six said quietly. After he spoke, the hatch opened up, and an announcement went through their ears that they should be jumping out of there in two minutes, no delaying.

"Six, you'll-" Holiday started to speak when her comm went off. She clicked it and listened for a second. "Thanks," she said into the comm. "Six, it's Xanubian. We're fighting Xanubian." She was worried – very clearly.

The agent considered this. Xanubian had inexplicable time manipulation powers. Holiday had mentioned multiple times how curious she was about the workings of them, but obviously they'd never get the chance to study them when attached to someone so dangerous and power-hungry. It was too bad. But Six was glad that if anyone had to fight a man so dangerous, it was him. And unlike the other consortium members, Xanubian never spoke, making his motives unknown and even more concerning.

With all this in mind, he looked over at Holiday, who had her eyes closed and was mumbling to himself. If he didn't know better, Six would've thought she was praying. She opened her eyes just as the hatch opened up for them to jump out in a minute.

"Ready, Six?" she asked with a cautious smile.

Six continued to stare at her before making a final decision. He stepped closer to her and paused.

Holiday blinked at his behavior and didn't say anything for about ten seconds, seeing if he was going to continue. "…Six?"

Rather than respond verbally, Six very suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a quick but passionate kiss. Holiday let out a squeak of surprise and, to Six's silent disappointment, didn't kiss back. Instead she grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed him away after a few seconds.

Six immediately pulled them back towards each other – not back to kissing, but so that she could feel his heavy breathing against her cheek and vice versa. Holiday took a few seconds of scrunching her eyes closed before speaking. "Prove you're really Six."

"How do I do that?" he answered quietly.

"Don't know. …do something only Six would do," she said back, not really sure what he'd do in response.

But Six just nodded, happy that those were the words she picked. He kissed her again, very briefly, and in one quick moment whipped out his sword and sliced through the straps on her parachute. She kissed him back that time and didn't seem to notice the lack of weight on her shoulders as Six stepped away and grabbed his hoverboard. "I'm sorry, Rebecca," he said before jumping out of the plane.

Holiday blinked and looked at the ground behind her, seeing the torn parachute. "Dammit, Six!" she screamed out despite knowing he couldn't hear her. She quickly turned around and cornered the nearest Providence grunt, grabbing him by the collar. "I need another parachute! Now!"

He stuttered, clearly not knowing what was going on. "A-all the parachutes a-are being used," he said. "W-White Knight said there was barely enough f-for everyone…"

Holiday dropped him and tried to ignore the tears starting to well up in her eyes. She hadn't cried from anger in a long time and she wasn't about to do it now. Six didn't think she could handle it down there, did he? Or maybe he just wanted to play the hero like some kind of idiot. Well she wasn't having any of that crap. "We're landing this plane. NOW."

It seemed that Xanubian was still unsure of the extent of his powers. Time manipulation was confusing enough as it was, but one man being able to focus on specific things and send them back only a few seconds, with their memories in tact…well, it was a skill that needed to be practiced before implemented. When Six found him, he was doing just that.

Some poor animals were being forced to redo their steps over and over again as the consortium member continued attempting to mess with his powers. A deer would run towards him, he'd reverse time for the deer, appear somewhere else, and the deer would run to the old spot just as before. Then it would look confused and try to run away. Six was pretty sure this counted as animal cruelty.

He was also pretty sure he didn't know how to win this fight. A man – robot? – who could change a fight as it was happening. Six could hit him, but he'd just go back in time to make it so he didn't hit him anymore. There was no winning a fight like that. There was just…distracting him until the rest of the consortium had been finished off. That was the only option he had. And with Holiday out of the equation so that he wouldn't get…distracted, Six knew this was what he had to do.

From a tree a bit of a distance away, Six tossed a few shuriken at Xanubian while his back was turned. They made impact – one of them scratching the top of his head and continuing further while the others impaled his back and the back of his head very nicely. Six immediately moved to a different branch in the hopes that Xanubian couldn't manipulate an object he couldn't see.

A second later, or was it a second earlier?, Six found himself back on the tree branch from before and shooting those shuriken again. He blinked at the realization. _Shit._ He turned around just in time to see Xanubian's large hand slap across his face and send him flying to the ground.

Generally unharmed, Six got up quickly and retreated to the other side of a very large tree. So Xanubian either spotted him or didn't _need_ to spot him to manipulate him. He needed to keep testing this theory until he was sure it was one or the other. Six threw more shuriken at the robotic EVO, satisfied by the sound of scratched metal, and stayed in one place rather than moving to another tree. Maybe that was how Xanubian spotted him before. Or maybe-

His thoughts were cut off by him unwittingly throwing the shuriken again and in the same place as before. Followed by, yet again, Xanubian smacking him and sending him to the ground. No, this was definitely a battle he couldn't win. Six needed to defeat him before he could manipulate time – but how the hell was he going to do that?

Deciding to try the direct approach, Six stood up and threateningly took out one of his swords, holding it towards the consortium member. The sneak attacks were ineffective and he was already feeling a burn in his chest from being hit so hard twice in a row. With the robotic creature looking right at him, Six considered his options. Throw one sword then attack with the other? That might be enough to delay him. But it could also lead to Xanubian manipulating time and space so that Six ended up stabbing himself with his own sword. Though he might've been interested in using this battle as a way to learn about his own powers, so maybe he wouldn't let Six die just yet.

With that in mind, Six decided to charge – throwing one of his swords at Xanubian and then slicing with the other. The first sword _hit_ , much to Six's joy, but as he went to slice down on the EVO's busted arm, he was suddenly back where he started and throwing his sword again.

This time, the sword clunked right into a tree a bit in the distance, and Six stopped himself from finishing his attack before turning around – hoping to defend himself from what was likely to be yet another slap.

Instead, Xanubian grabbed Six's head with his gigantic robotic hand and squeezed. Six gripped the sides of Xanubian's hand in an attempt to pull him off, but the EVO's grip was too tight and he just squeezed tighter. He proceeded to shake Six around a bit before an electrical impulse started shocking through his arm and into Six. The agent screamed out in pain as the shocks visibly convulsed through his entire body.

It was at that moment that Holiday and a couple of grunts started running up from a small ways back. As soon as the doctor recognized what was happening, she shot at Xanubian repeatedly. Unfortunately, her bullets just bounced off of him, and he slowly turned around to look at what was creating this minor annoyance.

Holiday noticed that Six wasn't moving in the EVO's grip. He wasn't moving at _all._ She held her breath and waited to see what was coming.

After a moment, Xanubian tossed Six's body off to the side – it smacked against the same tree his sword was embedded in and just slid down to the ground. Holiday felt herself wanting to run to him, but knowing Xanubian could kill her instantly if she tried kept her stuck in one place. The grunts behind her continued to shoot at him for a bit before realizing the inevitable failure of their efforts.

Despite his lack of eyes, Holiday felt like she was staring down with the EVO in front of her. She felt like he was considering whether or not to waste his time killing her and the three grunts she'd brought with. He was probably wondering if it'd take more than a few seconds – maybe even _less_ than that, since he could manipulate time at his will – but the fact that he was using up his time to mull it over gave her a bit of confidence that she might live to see another day. Or at least another hour.

After another ten seconds of silence, Xanubian started to move – floating off in the direction away from them and Six. Holiday kept her hands out to stop the grunts behind her from moving until Xanubian was well out of sight before looking back at them. "Keep tabs on where he's headed and report back to White Knight immediately! I'm…I'll go check on Six."

They nodded and went off for their own tasks while Holiday's feet moved faster than ever before and she slid down on her knees next to Six's body. "Six! Six?!" She put her hands on his face and took a short moment to state before moving her ear to his chest.

She could hear the tiniest, faintest heartbeat. But it was there. "Six…Six if you can hear me, you are the biggest idiot in the world! I can't believe you would do something so-! _So!_ " She moved her hands to his ribs to see how they felt – definitely a few broken ones in there – and then back up to his face.

"Wake up, Six. Say something. _Please,_ " she pleaded. "You can't do this to me again, Six. Just…" Holiday sighed and leaned her head down. "…not again."

Rebecca bit her lip at Six's lack of response and squeezed her eyes shut. If he was in a coma again, there was not going to be enough time to get him proper medical attention. If he woke up in the next five minutes…maybe he'd be okay. But…what were the chances? She had no idea how much damage Xanubian caused before she got there. How long had Six been knocked out? What was that electrical charge he sent through Six's system? She was just…clueless. And useless. And she couldn't stand it.

The tears starting flowing freely and Holiday felt like an idiot for crying – never did any good. But losing Six meant this battle was lost no matter what the outcome. She knew Rex would feel the same way and she was _not_ looking forward to that conversation. No one could be ready for that.

After another thirty seconds or so of letting her adrenaline rush calm down and finally wiping the tears off her face, Holiday started to move away from Six's body when she felt a squeeze. She gasped and looked down to see his hand covering hers on his chest.

"Six?!" she said louder than intended.

He pursed his lips momentarily. "…this…would've been…the third time," he said suddenly.

Holiday was smiling and the tears started to flow again. "Huh?" she asked, taking off his sunglasses and wiping the sweat off his forehead with her freehand.

"The…third time…" Six repeated. "…in a…coma."

She let out a tired laugh. "Y-yeah. I guess it would've been. How do you…how do you feel?"

"Been better," he said. "…been worse."

"You have some broken ribs," Holiday said, trying to get the smile off her face, but she couldn't get it to go away. "Can you move at all?"

Six nodded slowly, letting go of her hand and pushing himself into an upright position. Normally Holiday would've scolded him for overexerting himself when he was injured, but…he was alive. She was still reveling in that fact.

Rebecca put her hands on the sides of Six's face and smiled. "I'm glad you're alive, Six."

"Me, too." He smiled back.

Their faces started moving towards one another – slowly, as Six was still in a significant amount of pain – but before their lips made contact, Holiday's eyes widened and she put her fingers over his lips.

"Wait. How did you…" she scrunched her eyebrows. "How did you know you've been in a coma twice?"

Six raised an eyebrow at her. "Once with…with that Ben kid. And when your sister was…cured. Th-that makes two."

"Y-yes, but…you…" Holiday moved her hands down to his shoulders. "…do you…remember that?"

"Of _course_ I r-…" Six stopped himself and his eyes widened as he realized something. "I…I remember everything."

Rebecca's jaw hung open in disbelief. "You…but… _how?!_ "

Six shook his head – and regretted it immediately 'cause of the pain – and grabbed her arm with his right hand. "I don't…well. Time…time manipulation. Maybe…Xa-Xanubian caused it?"

"That doesn't make any-!" Holiday started to say, but she bit her lip instead. "Y'know what? I don't care. You're alive and you remember everything and-" She was cut off by Six suddenly kissing her again. Not even a half-second passed before she was kissing back, and she slowly pushed Six so he was comfortably leaning back instead of forcing himself to lean forward.

They broke apart after twenty seconds and Holiday was smiling brighter than she had in months.

Six kept his eyes shut for a minute before looking over at her. "That…that first date we went on. It was terrible. Gotta…redo."

Holiday laughed and kissed him quickly. "Fine, we can redo it as many times as you want. But first we've got to get back to The Keep and catch up with Rex. Can you get up?"

He moved himself around in place for a few seconds before stopping. "No. You can just-"

"I'm bringing a stretcher and some grunts. Don't even _think_ about telling me to leave you by yourself. Not again, Six," she scolded and quickly ran off towards The Keep.

Six just sighed and closed his eyes. He had broken ribs, some kind of concussion, electrical burns, and…suddenly six and a half years of moments and lives and conversations came flooding back to him all at once. He could use some time to himself.


	8. 66-70

Not much to say about this chapter. It's really short compared to some of the last ones! And there's some that aren't about Six and Holiday – buuuut most of them are still about Six and Holiday. You guys love it, I can tell.

 **66\. Dangerous Territory**  
 **:: Caesar, Holiday, Six**

Dr. Holiday strolled down the corridors of Providence Headquarters - currently on her way towards Caesar Salazar's lab. Earlier in the day, she overheard him mumbling to himself about a project he was working on. And if Holiday's ears were working correctly, he was close to finding a way to prevent people from going EVO! _That_ kind of research needed assistance, right? That's what she assumed, anyways, when she quickly popped her head into his lab.

"Caesar?" she asked, not seeing anyone around. She stepped inside to see if he was hiding (because, well, Caesar was weird sometimes) and suddenly she heard a loud _bump!_ from under the desk next to her.

Dr. Salazar stood up from the other side of the desk, rubbing the top of his head. "Oh, Dr. Holiday. What brings you here?"

Holiday smirked at his physical blunder and quickly went back to a neutral expression - don't be mean to him, Holiday! "Earlier I overheard you talking about a research project you're working on. About a way to prevent people from turning. How's that going?"

Caesar stared at her for a few seconds absentmindedly before lightly smacking himself on the forehead. "Oh, yes! The hormone study! No, unfortunately, that went absolutely nowhere."

"Oh," Holiday frowned. "I didn't realize you'd finished, I was going to offer to help." A hormone study would've been an interesting change of pace. Though, since it failed, apparently her help wouldn't have changed anything.

"If you're interested to know, you actually _did_ help," Caesar said, reaching into his desk to grab some papers.

While he did that, the door Holiday walked through just moments ago opened up again, and Agent Six made his way towards them. Holiday gave him a short nod, but her attention was on Caesar.

"I used you, Agent Six, and a few other soldiers and scientists for my study," Caesar said without batting an eye.

Six stopped in his tracks, at that moment standing next to Dr. Holiday. "You did _what_ , exactly?"

Holiday blinked. "...are you saying you were studying my hormone levels without my knowledge or permission?" She was getting very, very pissed.

Six looked down at her as she spoke, and his eyebrow started to twitch. Caesar was tracking their hormones?!

Putting his hands up in front of him, Caesar felt like he might have done something wrong. "I suppose if you put it that way, it sounds bad. But I was only tracking you two for about a month! And it really _was_ fascinating material - I was also able to track your whereabouts for the most part, so I was able to see when and where your hormones would react in certain ways."

Okay. Very, _very,_ _ **very**_ pissed. Holiday was practically shaking with anger. "Caesar, that is a COMPLETE invasion of privacy! You did _not_ have my permission to do _any_ of that!" She slammed her hands on his desk. "Do you not understand that?! You! Cannot! Track! Me! Without! My! Permission!"

Six was significantly more bothered by the 'tracking your whereabouts' than the hormone thing - he was definitely going to threaten Caesar to explain that part after Holiday's little explosion.

Caesar backed away from his desk - clearly very scared of Dr. Holiday. "I, um...would it make you feel any better if I told you what I _did_ find out? I couldn't find a significant correlation to nanite levels, but it was interesting to note nonetheless."

She was still completely pissed off, ready to tear out Salazar's windpipe with her bare hands, but...she was a scientist. And she loved seeing new and interesting data. "It doesn't _help_ , but tell me anyway."

He slowly reached forward and grabbed one of the papers off his desk and cleared his throat before analyzing it quickly. "Well, I was curious if a raised hormone level would decrease nanite activity level - a bit random, I suppose, but you've mentioned before that Rex's hormones and emotions effect his builds, so it seemed like something to pursue."

Six barely understood what they were talking about, but Holiday hadn't killed Caesar yet, so it must have been good. Holiday, on the other hand, was slightly less pissed while she listened to Caesar speak.

"So I decided to test the hormone levels of some non-EVOs to see if there was any correlation - unfortunately with my ten subjects, there didn't seem to be any."

There was a good ten-second pause in conversation after that. Holiday scowled. "So what _did_ you find out?"

"Oh," Caesar blinked. He'd forgotten to finish. "I just took notice that yours and Agent Six's hormone levels increase _dramatically_ when you're near one another. It's almost uncanny how significant the jump is when one of you walks into a room that the other is in."

Holiday felt like a bomb had just been dropped. What did he just say? Did he just say what she thought he said? No way one man could be so completely, utterly socially unaware that he would say such an idiotic sentence. No way in Hell Caesar just said what she definitely heard come out of his mouth. She was definitely blushing from head-to-toe. Why did Six have to come into the room? Did he need something? From _her?_ His hormone levels increased, too? Of course they did, he's a guy. No, that sounded stupid, maybe it was just coincidental. Or maybe he was just interested in her physically. That was likely, to be honest. But she just- she couldn't- _why. WHY._

Six, while Holiday had her own mini-meltdown, took a second to think about that. He understood what that meant just fine, but there was _no_ way Caesar was stupid enough to say something like that out loud. Why did this idiot exist? Why did they have to take him in? He was an idiot. And suspicious. And Holiday spent too much time with him one-on-one. And an idiot! Six knew he was _probably_ blushing, though trying to ignore that fact by avoiding looking at Holiday. She probably thought he was disgusting and perverted. Or probably not, since apparently she was interested, too. But he knew that. Or he didn't. But, well, he _did_ , but this wasn't the time or place to address that, and _why_ was Caesar so stupid?

Caesar was blinking and looking back and forth between the two people in front of him. Both of them looked like they were about to murder him. Which was bad - very bad - so perhaps, he thought, running away would be a good option at that moment. Instead, Caesar just put the paper back down on his desk. "...did I say something wrong?"

Holiday turned impossibly redder when he said that and jumped as if waking up from a trance. "I-I'm leaving! This is ridiculous! Do not _ever_ track any part of me _again!_ " she shouted quickly before bolting out of the room.

Six, though he attempted to avoid looking at her, _did_ watch her jog out of the room, and wondered if his hormone levels were rising while he watched her butt swaying. He felt kind of gross about it, to be perfectly honest. And then he turned to glare at Caesar.

"If you do anything like this again, you'll need to start sleeping with one eye open," he said sternly, getting up in Caesar's face. "I _am_ watching you, Salazar," he finished, following Holiday out the door (but then walking in the opposite direction as he saw her go).

Caesar slumped back into his chair. Initially (after all the confusion was out of the way) he liked Rex's guardians. At that moment, though...he wasn't so sure.

 **67\. Boundaries**  
 **:: Six, Rex**

"There are a few basic rules I need you to follow under any and all circumstances."

Rex was bouncing all over the place while Six stood tall in front of Holiday's desk. She wasn't there currently, but Six found Rex spinning around in her chair and decided it was past time they had a little talk.

"Rex. Are you listening to me?"

"Uh-huh," the kid responded, continuing to bounce and spin in the chair.

Six sighed and grabbed the back of the chair with one hand, stopping Rex right in his tracks. "You need to listen to me. Not just now. Always. Listen. To. Me. Do what I say. Got it?"

Rex stood up. "Alright, geez. You're my boss, I got it, I got it." He started falling to the side. "Whoa...I'm dizzy."

Six rolled his eyes. "And do _not_ , under any circumstances, take advice from Bobo Haha. Don't listen to him. At all."

"Kay."

As Six opened his mouth to say something else, Dr. Holiday walked into the room. She blinked at who was there. "Um...hi guys. Having fun in my office?"

"I found Rex in here, he seems to like your chair," Six shrugged.

Rex was still trying to stop being dizzy when Holiday laughed and pet him on the head as she walked to her desk. "That's fine, I just need to grab something real quick," she said, grabbing something out of her desk and then walking out.

Six nodded at her as she left, but noticed Rex's eyes lingering on...certain parts of her. How old was he again? 13? 14? That...made sense. But it would not do. "Next thing you need to do is _stop_ harassing Dr. Holiday."

" _Harassing?!_ " Rex exclaimed, turning to look at Six. "I've been totally woo-ing her, and you call it harassment? You're just jealous, Old Man!"

Six's eyebrow twitched. "You're a kid. She thinks you're cute." Rex smiled really big. " _Baby_ cute, not boyfriend cute."

Rex huffed. "Says _you._ In a few years, she'll be up for a date. I'd bet money on it!"

"Too bad you don't have any money to bet." Six rolled his eyes again.

 **68\. Unsettling Revelations**  
 **:: Six, Holiday, Bobo :: Rated T 'cause of the beginning but I promise it's not porn!**

The door to Holiday's Providence Headquarters apartment whooshed open and two bodies stumbled inside, hands and mouths all over each other. A pair of shoes flew one way, a jacket the other way, and a pair of sunglasses were thrown to the other side of the bed sitting a good fifteen feet away from where the couple was still standing.

"S-… _Six_ ," Holiday mumbled in the few seconds she had between kisses.

Rather than respond, Six moved his lips down to her neck and just mumbled to let her know he was listening.

"…bed… _now,_ " she said with a sigh as his lips reached a spot on the side of her neck that was making her go _crazy._ He took note of that and started giving it more attention, leading to Holiday's hands scratching lightly at the back of his neck. She grumbled and groaned a bit as he shoved her against the wall.

Six moved his attentions back to her lips and stuck his tongue in her mouth immediately – they made out against the wall for a good fifteen seconds before he remembered what she said and moved his hands around her thighs and pulled them up. Holiday wrapped her legs around his waist and her hands tightened their grip around his neck as he started moving them towards the bed.

Not-so-gently, Six plopped Holiday and himself down on the bed – there was a loud sound, but it didn't sound like anything broke, so they chose to ignore it for the time being. And as they continued to pay attention to one another, they didn't notice a groan coming from the other side of the bed.

"Hey, what's the big ide…" Bobo was rubbing the top of his head as he poked it out from under Holiday's bed and stood up – not able to finish his sentence thanks to what was right in front of him.

Three pairs of eyes were suddenly all staring at each other; ten seconds of awkward silence passed before Holiday finally reacted.

"WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!" she screeched, attempting to cover her naked chest with Six's unbuttoned shirt.

"What am _I_ doing in here? What's _he_ doing in-…okay, dumb question," Bobo said with a laugh. "Real question is, how long have you-"

" _No_ , the real question is why don't I dissect you and get you _stuffed_ instead of keeping you around?!" Holiday interrupted. "Get _out! NOW!"_

Bobo held his hands up and immediately hopped around the bed. "Alright, you win! I'm gone! But if you don't want Rex to know about _this,_ don't ask me why I was in here. It's complicated!" And he headed out the door.

Six was still silent as the door shut again, and he looked down at Holiday, who was breathing heavily and _not_ in the sexy way she had been five minutes earlier.

He glanced down at Holiday, up at the door, down at Holiday again. "...are we still-"

She groaned loudly. "Mood was _kind of_ ruined, Six! How can you still be horny?!"

With a raised eyebrow, Six looked down at her chest. "Well, _they're_ making it easy."

Holiday pouted and shoved Six off of her – turning him over on the bed next to her. "I need a shower. Or something. I feel like my entire room needs to be scrubbed down. Let's shower in your room instead."

"I can work with that," Six said as he grabbed his sunglasses off the floor.

 **69\. Shattered**  
 **:: Cricket, Circe**

"Cricket, Tuck, you in here?" Skwydd yelled into his makeshift home. "I brought a friend!"

Immediately, Tuck spiraled into the room and Cricket jumped down from a higher area. "A friend?" Tuck asked.

"Is it the person Rex mentioned?" Cricket asked, raising an eyebrow.

Skwydd smiled. "You can ask her yourself," he said, moving to the side so Circe was visible to the rest of their group.

Cricket smiled brightly. Finally! Another girl! "Hi! I'm Cricket! And this is-"

"Tuck," he interrupted, stepping in front of Cricket and holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

Circe smirked and took his hand, shaking it and quickly letting go. "Circe. I'm so glad Rex told you guys I was coming. Skwydd here made it seem like I was a _surprise._ "

Cricket laughed. "Well, he didn't give much in the way of details. He just said a friend of his was coming up to stay with us for a while. He didn't even tell me you're a girl! I am in desperate need of a girl friend!" She reached forward and grabbed Circe's hands.

Circe smiled. "My last female friend was...not much of a friend. So hopefully this'll go better," she responded with an awkward smirk.

Tuck and Skwydd looked at each other on the side. "This should be a nice change. She cool?" Tuck asked.

"Yeah, man," Skwydd said. "We chatted on the way here. She's Rex's..."not-girlfriend" and she's trying to get away from bad influences."

Cricket turned her head towards Skwydd when he spoke. Circe was Rex's what now?

"Not-girlfriend?" she asked, not realizing it was out-loud.

Circe blushed. "I didn't expect him to repeat it. I was just...mumbling or, or, I don't know. Yeah. I guess Rex and I are..." She rolled her hands around. "...romantic, or whatever. Kind of."

Cricket blinked a few times. "Oh." Well, it's not like she had any claim on Rex. She didn't even really have a crush on him anymore. It was just...it was weird to think about. It was...it hurt. In a weird way. Her heart felt broken and she didn't understand why. "...you'll have to tell me all about that!"

Still blushing, Circe waved a hand in front of her. "Oh, God. I never thought I'd have a friend to talk about _boys_ with," she mumbled. "And you can tell me about _these two_ ," she finished.

Cricket smiled brightly, despite still feeling weirdly broken. "Oh, I would _love_ to."

 **70\. Bitter Silence**  
 **:: Circe**

She couldn't remember it that well.

The feeling of transforming - though she changed very little compared to some of the creatures she'd worked with - was frightening. She wouldn't wish it on her worst enemy.

And of course, as her friends had told her, it was different with everyone. Different feelings and emotions and different amounts of pain. She...she was in a lot of pain. She could _feel_ her jaw detatch and her neck start to expand and stretch. The skin ripping. Tearing. Everything just going in ways it wasn't meant to go.

And then there was the loudest noise she'd ever heard - it was _deafening_ , and it continued while her jaw and neck was stretching and tearing, and she fell to the floor, not noticing the building and street around and in front of her falling apart. She couldn't see - eyes blurry from tears...she couldn't hear - everything was this loud screaming noise and she couldn't pinpoint it or get rid of it but it was just _so loud._

Looking back on it later, she realized the entire thing only lasted about a minute. A minute of the greatest pain she'd ever felt. And then, as soon as it started, it ended - her jaw and mouth and neck were back to how she remembered them. It was almost as if nothing had happened - like it was all some crazy, hallucinogenic dream.

But she looked up, in front of her, and suddenly everything went silent. It was a horrific, bitter silence. All the buildings and cars and people - there were people, she knew there was, but they were gone - were ripped apart. Like a giant wind had just come from where she was standing and blown everything away.

Circe knew, in that moment, that she couldn't stay there. She needed to leave. She needed...she needed to get away.


	9. 71-75

This chapter is 100% Holix, so have fun with that! Hahahaha. One of them is kinda smutty but it's not all-out porn or anything. Up to you if you wanna read it shruuuugs. There's warnings on anything that needs 'em! Enjoy!

 **71\. The True You**  
 **:: Six, Holiday :: another in my** _ **When EVOs Attack!**_ **Series. Takes place pre-series!**

In her lab, Holiday busied her mind by shuffling around a few papers. Six and Rex were currently heading back from their most recent excursion with a few EVOs, and someone informed her that Six had been hit with something.

Good thing someone told her, too, 'cause she knew Six wouldn't have said a word. Unless it was some kind of acid melting his skin, he wouldn't find it dangerous enough to go see the doctor about it.

Perhaps, she thought briefly, she should require Rex, Bobo, _and_ Six to come see her after every mission. Then Six wouldn't be able to avoid her. She smirked at the thought, absolutely certain she'd bring it up to White as soon as possible.

At that moment, the doors behind her swished open, and she turned around just in time to see Rex shoving Six through the door.

She stared, somewhat bemused, at their struggle, before Six finally realized he was making an ass of himself and just went with it. He adjusted his tie and brushed a bit of dirt off one shoulder as he made his way over to the doctor.

"Look, Dr. Holiday, I feel fine, so I don't need to-"

"Nothing? It was reported to me that you were, and I quote, 'hit with something.' So what was it?" She walked around him for quick inspection. "I don't see any bleeding. Was it a blunt object? Some kind of gaseus defense mechanism?"

He sighed. "...yes. It didn't harm me."

She crossed her arms, now in front of him again. "I don't understand how you can't understand that if nothing happens immediately, then something still could happen. Actually it's very likely."

After a moment of hesitation, he sighed. "Yes, I understand, but I'd just like to go."

She blinked. It almost seemed like Six just...didn't want to be around her. Which wasn't a foreign idea, but usually he had more tact about it. "Well, too bad, 'cause you'll need to be at least _near_ the medical ward for the next twenty-four hours since we don't know what will happen."

He clenched his teeth before responding. "I _do_ know what happened."

She moved her hands to her hips. "...alright, so what is it?"

He clenched his teeth again, and Holiday was starting to get a little worried. It was nice that he was actually answering her questions with more than a grunt or a shrug, but he seemed to be struggling when he opened his mouth. Perhaps this was related to what hit him.

"I...don't know the details," Six explained. "...but it seems I'm unable to lie."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Unable to-?!" She turned around excitedly and grabbed a clipboard. "Fascinating! Did you capture the EVO or kill it?"

"Killed."

She frowned and suddenly crossed out a few words she'd written. "Great. I could've studied this. What if it doesn't wear off?"

His mouth formed a straight line. "...then I suppose it's a good thing I don't still have my old job."

She raised an eyebrow. Six never talked about himself much, especially not about what he did prior to Providence. It was...devilishly exciting to know that she could learn more about him because of this...need to tell the truth that the EVO gassed him with.

But she couldn't take advantage of that, could she?

Suddenly a bit nervous - considering all the things she _could_ ask him and there were a lot of things she wanted to, but the fact that he didn't run away meant he must've trusted her at least a little bit, right? So she couldn't just ask him all those questions about him and... _them_ that she wanted to.

She tossed her long hair behind her shoulder and looked Six over again. "So did the gas hit part of you or all of you?"

"All."

She wrote that down and nodded. "Was there a distinct smell or color to it?"

"It was yellow...ish. No smell."

She nodded again. "One more question...do you like my new outfit? I thought I should try something I could wear out of the office, too."

Taken back by her question, Six frowned and immediately looked her up and down. He hadn't even noticed her outfit. Though he should be grateful, Six knew she wouldn't be able to avoid asking him _something_ he didn't want her to ask, but this was pretty minor.

She'd switched from her long white coat-jacket-thing (he didn't know fashion, alright?) and was now wearing an orange shirt, gray skirt, and regular labcoat. Definitely more wearable if she wanted to go out.

"It looks...nice," he commented quietly. Which it _did_ , perhaps a bit better than nice, but he wasn't exactly one to give out big compliments.

She smirked, pleased with that. "Alright, if this doesn't wear off in twenty-four hours, come see me again. Otherwise...I'd recommend just staying in your room, or else you might let Rex know that you actually _care_ about him."

He frowned at her entertainment with his predicament, though realistically he'd probably be pretty amused if Holiday was stuck in his position. But he couldn't let her off with the last laugh, and he stared at her again, before he had his first (and hopefully last) experience of speaking without thinking.

"If you _are_ looking for criticism, Doctor, you really should stop wearing your hair down all the time. It may look good, but it's definitely not professional as a doctor _or_ as a scientist."

He suddenly shut his mouth and stood up straight, now mad at himself. He hadn't intended to say any of that. Would she take offense?

Instead, Holiday just smirked again - probably because of the 'good' comment - and twirled her hair a bit. "You know what, Six, I think you're on to something here. Thanks."

Rather than dwell on it, Six nodded and finally retreated from the doctor's lab. He'd had enough embarrassing himself for one lifetime.

As she watched him walk away, Holiday's smirk never left. She'd gotten "nice" and "good" out of him today...she'd definitely have to work on getting something better than that. Maybe she should've asked him about how _'good'_ her hair looked.

She reached up and messed with it a bit. She really _should_ put it up.

 **72\. Pretense**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

"The Hole."

Holiday jumped at the voice behind her, turning around to see Agent Six being a lot closer than professionally appropriate. "I'm...what?"

"The Hole," he repeated. "Why do you keep going down there?"

"...that's not any of your business," she said sadly, turning back around to shuffle her papers back together. Six really scared the crap out of her, how did he sneak so easily?

"It _is_ my business if you have to walk through the Petting Zoo every time you go there," he said sternly. "It's dangerous. You shouldn't be going there alone."

She tugged her hair behind her ear. "It's fine. I'm fine. I'm just looking at the EVO in there."

"Why?"

Frustrated, Holiday turned around again and poked him in the chest. "Because, Agent Six! Because I am! Because I don't need to explain everything I do to you! And I'm _fine._ I can handle walking through the goddamn Petting Zoo without getting hurt. Don't act like I can't handle myself, Agent, 'cause I've been through there a good fifty times already and I _know_ what I'm doing!"

Six was a little stunned, but kept a facade of aloofness in front of her. "...fine," he responded, turning around to head out the door. To be honest, he _knew_ why she was going down there. White told him a while back. But he wasn't going to say anything if she reacted so harshly about it. Clearly her sister was a very sore subject for Dr. Holiday, and Six could tell she wouldn't react lightly to him prying into her personal life.

 **73\. Patience**  
 **:: Six, Callan, Rex**

"Look, Rex, it's not that I don't get along with the guy, it's just…well, I haven't really spoken to him since the whole memory loss thing. When he almost massacred some of my best soldiers. It made things a little awkward, y'know?"

"Don't worry about it, Captain! He's a guy, you're a guy! Manly, soldier guys! Just start talking. See what comes up!"

"…you watch too many movies, Kid. Or maybe that's how guys your age do it, but at my age…"

"Yeah, I get it, you're old, whatever! You _owe_ me! Can't you at least _try?!_ "

"…fine. But if he skewers me, it's on _your_ head!"

"Roger that!"

* * *

Six wasn't used to being bothered by other soldiers. They didn't seem to like him much, or more likely they were terrified of him, which was fine. He wasn't big on making friends, anyway. He had close relationships with White, Rex, and Holiday. Three was pretty good.

However, despite that initially stated fact that soldiers didn't talk to him much, while he was drinking coffee and looking at the newspaper one early morning, Captain Callan stomped into the break room, poured himself a mug, and sat across from Six looking eager for conversation.

Six put the newspaper down and raised an eyebrow at the blonde, taking a sip of his coffee. If he wanted to talk, he could talk.

"So, uh," Callan started, sounding awkward as hell. "How've you been, Agent Six?"

"…fine," Six responded coolly, taking another sip of coffee.

"Good. Good," Callan said. This was not going anywhere. Rex was going to bother him nonstop until he got some definitive answers out of Agent Six, so Callan was going to have to try a lot harder. "Anything new happening in your life? Y'know, since Rex cured almost every EVO 'n whatnot."

"Not particularly," Six said, with another sip of his coffee.

"Right." Callan was getting nervous. He couldn't just blatantly ask, could he? He really didn't want to have to spend an excessive amount of time with Agent Six. Maybe blatant was just the only way to get it done. "So…you and Dr. Holiday…"

Six's eyebrow peaked.

"…have you, um," Callan stumbled over his words. "…have you hit that yet?"

If Six was any other person in the world, he would've spit out his coffee all over Callan's face. Fortunately for both of them, he was, in fact, Six, so instead he just froze for a second before putting down his mug and glaring at the man in front of him.

"Did Rex or White send you to ask me that?"

Callan exhaled loudly and leaned against the table. " _Rex_ \- oh _Christ_ I am sorry for saying that like that. A woman like Doctor Holiday deserves more respect. I'm so sorry talking like that about your lady, Agent."

Six nodded at the explanation, but blushed just a _tiny_ bit at the end of Callan's apology. "I…wouldn't call her "my lady," Captain."

Callan raised an eyebrow at Six. "What? You're still not back together?"

The atmosphere in the room got tense for a few seconds before Six opened his mouth. "What does _that_ mean? _Back_ together?"

"I, uh…"

"Wait-" Six leaned forward. "Are you telling me that Holiday and I were dating before I lost my memories?"

"Um…" Well, he fucked up. How the hell had it been over six months since his memory loss and Six _still_ didn't know about that? "Sir, I think that's something she should tell you herself."

"But why hadn't she told me yet?" Six wondered aloud. "Is she…ashamed? Uninterested? Worried?"

Callan had to admit, he was a little entertained to see Agent Six flustered and so concerned over one woman – even if she _was_ Dr. Holiday. "Sir, maybe it's possible she wanted _you_ to bring up the subject first."

Six looked up at Callan and nodded. "You're…probably right."

Expecting him to continue, Callan didn't say anything, and the room gradually became totally silent. It was ridiculously awkward until Callan finally spoke up.

"Uh…are you gonna go talk to her?"

"I don't know," Six said, sounding surprisingly anxious. "I just…I don't know."

"Do you need…uh…help?"

Six frowned deeply and glared at Callan. _Help?_ With women? Clearly he was offended by the offer. And as Callan opened his mouth to say he was kidding or something equally stupid, Six finally responded with a curt, "…maybe."

This was going to be a _weird_ day.

 **74\. Midnight**  
 **:: Six, Holiday :: Rated T or M or idk, 'cause implied sexual situations! I'm too lazy to write out the actual sex scene, sorry hahahaha. But it's, like, smutty, I guess. And this is a continuation of 42. Start (the one with Rhodes telling Holiday to buy lingerie!)**

When Rebecca had asked him to come to her room, Six wouldn't deny that he was nervous. They'd been dating for a few months already and things were going very, _very_ slowly. He wouldn't be surprised if she decided to cut things off with him and just remain friends. Which would be...unfortunate, but he'd respect her decision. Most likely by avoiding her.

As he reached her room, the door was slightly ajar, and he frowned harshly at that. He stepped inside the room and immediately noticed it was dark, besides a light from her desk lamp and the light coming from around the bathroom door.

"...Holiday?" he asked cautiously. Why'd she call him over if she wasn't ready to talk to him? That meant she was probably nervous or...anxious...for some reason...

He heard her voice after a moment of obvious hesitation. "Just sit on the bed, I'll be out in a sec!"

Nodding, Six stepped over to the bed and plopped himself down, unsure of what to do with himself.

* * *

In the bathroom, Rebecca was finished getting ready...but she was nervous as hell. What if this didn't work? Obviously he wouldn't _laugh_ at her, but...she still didn't know _how_ he'd react. Her very small amount of experience told her that, as a man, Six wouldn't say 'no' or have any problem with this...but she was still anxious. Sex was a big step. Or maybe it was a big step for her and not for Six. Or maybe she just didn't know what she was talking about after so many years of being abstinent.

She spoke to her reflection quietly, hoping Six wasn't listening in. "Okay Rebecca, you've got this. No big deal! So you've been in love with this man for years. And he's not a fan of physical contact. That's not a big deal. You've got this. No big deal. It's just sex. No big deal."

She took another deep breath and stared down at herself. The matching bra and panties (in a lacy green, of course) fit perfectly and she honestly felt pretty comfortable in them. And, well, in her personal opinion...she didn't look half bad, either. But that wasn't the point. The point was...would _Six_ like it?

She glared at her reflection. Yes. Yes he would.

Another breath and Holiday decided she could do this. She slowly made her way to the door.

* * *

He could hear her mumbling. Couldn't really understand what she was saying - but she was obviously prepping herself for _something_.

It was kind of obvious at this point that she planned on breaking this off. He saw it coming. Probably should've seen it even sooner. She would want a stable life, with a family...kids. He couldn't offer her that. Not now and...probably not ever. She wouldn't have trouble finding someone else. He wondered briefly if she would invite him to her wedding with this other guy, and then paused, shook his head, and tried to get rid of this paranoia. He was being ridiculous.

"Sorry for making you wait..."

He looked up at the sound of her voice, which sounds oddly sultry considering how she usually spoke, and his eyes widened at the sight in front of him. Holiday, with her hair down and only a _lovely_ set of underwear on, leaned against her bathroom's doorframe, looking...just...looking _hot._

He tried very, _very_ hard to keep his eyes on her face - even if she couldn't see them, he didn't like to get distracted - but in this case...she _wanted_ him to look elsewhere, right? Otherwise she wouldn't be wearing that or looking at him like that or...

Holiday bit her lip at Six's lack of a verbal reaction, but perhaps fortunately for him, she could very plainly see his reaction from the way he was sitting. Encouraged by that, Holiday gently shoved herself off the doorframe, and attempted to look sexy as she walked over to him.

As soon as she got close enough, Rebecca put her hands on each of Six's shoulders and lifted one knee to rest on the bed next to him. His hands immediately grasped at her hips and she leaned forward towards him.

"So how am I doing?" she breathed out, smiling.

He smirked back at her. "Depends. What did you intend to do?"

Rebecca let out a small laugh and felt herself blush. "I'm really hoping you can tell."

Six brought up a hand and removed his sunglasses, tossing them to the floor. "You're doing just fine."

At that, Holiday closed the gap between them and pressed her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck. Six squeezed her hips tighter with one hand and the other wrapped around her back to bring her closer.

She smirked against his mouth as soon as she could feel how hard he was and let her fingers massage him through the hair at the nape of his neck. He responded by gliding the tips of his fingers into her underwear, and separating her lips with his tongue.

She moaned in response, squeezing her hands tighter around his neck, and Six slowly turned them around, gently placing her on the bed. He separated their lips and hovered above her, smirking at her flushed face and needy expression.

He leaned down and kissed her again, just briefly, while his hands lunged for her skin. "Are you sure about this?"

She chuckled. "Pretty sure _I'm_ the one who started this."

Satisfied with her response, Six covered her smile with his lips again, Holiday parting them immediately to give him the full experience. Yeah, she was sure.

Six started crawling his hands up her sides and hesitated for a few seconds before moving one of them to her breast and squeezing gently - Holiday smirked against his mouth in response and he felt a little more confident about everything.

 **75\. Shadows**  
 **:: Six, Holiday**

"It's nice to get out like this, isn't it?"

"It is. I…I haven't done this in a long time."

She smirked. "How long? You probably have me beat."

"Years," he said. "Excluding something undercover…maybe over a decade."

"Christ, Six," she pursed her lips. "That's ridiculous! It's only been a few months for me. Not since I went out with Austin last year, anyway."

"With…Captain Callan?" Six said, eyebrow raised. "I didn't know you went out with him."

"Just a few times," she nodded. "Don't get jealous or anything."

Six adjusted his sunglasses – caught a bit off guard by her teasing comment. "I…wasn't. I'm just surprised I didn't know, is all."

She smirked. "He's actually the one who broke it off with me. Said I seemed too distracted all the time, made him feel boring."

"…distracted by what?"

"Work, maybe? I didn't really get it. You could ask him if you'd like, though I hear he's dated a few other women since then."

"You don't seem distracted now. Which is a bit surprising considering everything that just happened."

She chuckled. "I guess I'm too busy being relieved to be distracted. Beverly's cured, we're…we're spending time together," she looked away while saying that. "…it's been a good week, despite what Moses did."

Six suddenly got very serious and put his hand over hers. "We _will_ track him down, Holiday. We'll get every cent of yours back from him."

She smiled and turned her hand over to grab his. "Thanks, Six. I…with Beverly back, I keep forgetting how much money I lost. I really _did_ get too desperate."

He stared down at their hands, then looked up at her. "You did. But if you hadn't…maybe Beverly wouldn't be at the mall with Rex right now."

"…yeah," she said, looking right back at him.

Their gaze locked and instinctively, they started leaning into one another. Holiday's heart was beating so loud she just _knew_ Six could hear it.

With less than an inch of distance between their lips, Six suddenly jerked back, and Holiday did the same in response. "I-I'm sorry, Six, I didn't-, um-"

He shook his head and grabbed his arm. "N-no, it's not…not that. I feel-…"

"Six?" she got up from her seat and walked over to him. "Are you-? What hurts?"

"Ev-" He paused, his arm started to shake. "…everything."

Holiday covered up her mouth with her hands. She knew what was happening. And she was never wrong about this. "Six, we need to get you outside."

He nodded, jolting out of his chair and running out of the restaurant. Holiday pressed her comm and called for backup from Providence, worried that Six's physical prowess might lead to him being hard to contain.

She quickly followed him outside and looked around. "Six? _Six?!_ I called for Providence! They'll be here soon! Where did you-"

Her words were cut off by a large, sharp limb slicing through the air and hitting the ground just a few inches in front of her. The creature attached to it looked like some sort of insect, long and green with wings and, from what she could tell, no eyes.

"S-Six?"

The creature's face suddenly stared at her, and Holiday screamed as it moved to slice at her again.


	10. 76-77

Shitshit, I totally forgot to post last Thursday and didn't realize it hahahaha. Also school has been busy so I'm gonna switch to two fics per chapter. Also 'cause I still have three left to write x_x

 **76\. Summer Haze**  
 **:: Rex, Noah, Circe, Beverly**

"Whoa, wait, you actually got some?" Beverly squeaked, opening the box Noah brought with him.

"Yup! A friend of mine bought it for me. I just offered to do his homework for a few weeks – his major is really easy so it'll just be practice for me, anyway," Noah bragged.

"Man, I honestly didn't expect you to get it," Rex pulled out a bottle and stared at it. "You guys aren't gonna make fun of me for this being my first time, right?"

Beverly glanced back and forth. "Um, it's mine too, so…no."

Circe grabbed the bottle out of Rex's hands. "Mine, too, if we're clearing the air. I was scared of what I might do if I got drunk and started screaming at things."

Noah smirked. "So I – Mr. Honor Student of the Year – am the only one here whose gotten drunk before?" He almost started to laugh until he realized he was in the minority. "…well, right. Nothing wrong with that! Just don't overdo it, okay?"

Rex grabbed two bottles and opened them both at once. "Come _on_ , Noah! Booze, the beach, two bodacious babes!"

Circe rolled her eyes and Beverly smiled. Noah rubbed the back of his neck – he and Claire were on a break, but he still felt a little awkward in the two-on-two situation they were in. Especially since Rex and Circe were already an item. Even if Beverly _was_ really cute.

Rex shoved a bottle into Noah's face. "Dude. Drink!"

* * *

Rex wiggled his toes, breaking the sand that was covering them. "Dude…" Rex laughed. "What are you _doing?_ "

Noah continued patting at the sand all around Rex. "Burying you, Rex! I told you that already!"

"Right," Rex leaned back and shook his head a bit. "Riiiiiiight."

"Dude you are _so_ wasted."

"I am _so_ not!" Rex yelled, sitting up to get in Noah's face and ruining what he'd been working on for the past ten minutes.

"Hey! You weren't supposed to get up until I called the girls over!" Noah yelled. "I wanted you to scare 'em!"

Rex just laughed. "I don't think that would've scared 'em. Maybe, like…a shark. Like if a shark popped out of the sand, _that_ would scare 'em."

Noah nodded. "That's so true."

"Wait, where'd they even go?" Rex started to look around and Noah followed suit.

"There they are!" Noah pointed off into the water. Circe and Beverly were splashing around and throwing a beach ball back and forth. As soon as Beverly noticed the guys were looking, the beach ball smacked into her head and knocked her over.

"Bev, oh my god!" Circe started laughing ridiculously hard and reached down to help her new friend stand up. "I'm _so_ sorry, I totally thought you were gonna catch that!" She kept laughing while she was talking.

Beverly spit out the salty water and then started to laugh, too. "I _was_ gonna! Uh. Going to! Gonna. But the guys distracted me!" Bev pointed to them.

Circe followed her pointer finger and waved at the guys. "Let's go back over there."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Cuddle up with the guys or something. Maybe we can convince them to start a fire and we can have s'mores!" Circe clapped her hands together.

Beverly laughed. "I don't think we brought marshmallows! Or…did we? Do you think we brought Twix, too? 'Cause I'm soooo hungry for some Twix."

"I'm not sure," Circe said. "Let's go ask." She grabbed Beverly's hand and they started walking over to the guys.

Rex elbowed Noah when the girls started walking their way. "Dude! You need to look cool, okay? I know that's hard, but I believe in you!"

"Shut up, man," Noah shoved Rex, who fell back into the sand.

"What are you guys _doing?_ " Circe said, crossing her arms.

Rex sat back up. "Just waiting for you, ladies! Come, join us, sit with us! Let's spend some quality time together!"

Bev and Circe smirked and Noah slapped his face. " _That's_ your idea of 'being cool?' How am I even friends with you?"

Circe sat down next to Rex and leaned against his side. "I think I'm siding with Noah on this one. Maybe we should switch."

Rex gave Circe an extremely sad look while Noah and Beverly blushed. They weren't exactly ready to acknowledge the elephant in the room – were they hooking up that night? Clearly they were going to be spending some alone time together at _some_ point.

"I'm just kidding, Dork!" Circe shoved Rex on the chest – he fell back and she leaned on top of him. "Don't be so dramatic."

"Dramatic?" Rex put a hand to his forehead. "Drama! Like…like Romeo and Juliet!"

"What?" Circe laughed.

"Romeo and Juliet, Circe! Are you so uncultured you don't know such a romantic play?"

"It's not romantic," Noah said from the side. "Everyone _dies!_ "

Ignoring him, Rex continued. "The big kiss scene, Circe! Do you at least know _that_ part?"

She rolled her eyes. "I know what Romeo and Juliet is. I just didn't know _why_ you were bringing it up. Now I get it though," she smirked down at him.

Rex smiled up at her as she leaned down to kiss him, and they stayed like that for a bit while Noah and Beverly awkwardly turned around.

"So, uh…how long have you and Rex been friends?" Beverly asked, rubbing her arm.

"A while," he answered. "Way before you were cured."

She brushed a finger through her hair. "Oh…you know about that, huh?"

"Yeah…" Noah shrugged. "You almost killed me once."

Beverly's eyes widened and she looked over at him. "I-I'm so sorry! I don't…I'm _sooo_ sorry! I don't remember any of that! I'm, like. Oh, God…that sucks, God. I'm so-"

She was cut off by Noah suddenly kissing her on the lips – which apparently took them both by surprise by how quickly they pulled away. Noah and Beverly were both tomato red, and she smiled to the side while he rubbed the back of his neck, thinking he made things awkward.

"I, um…Bev, I'm-" Noah stopped talking when she leaned against his shoulder and grabbed his hand.

"It's cool. Just…roll with it," she said back, still blushing.

Rex and Circe, having stopped making out a good twenty seconds earlier, looked at each other. "Wanna head to the car for a bit?" Rex asked.

" _Why?_ " Circe asked back, an eyebrow raised. "Do you wanna-"

"…yeah."

"Oh, please. What kind of girl do you take me for?"

"…my favorite kind?"

Circe chuckled. "No, actually, I was gonna ask you the same thing. Or. Something similar to it, anyway."

Rex smiled. "Nice! World's Best Girlfriend Award goes to-"

She cut him off by kissing him again. "Stop being a dork and let's move before they notice," she whispered in his ear - making Rex blush a bit as he stood up and grabbed her hand. They headed to the car, shoving themselves into the backseat and closing the door as quietly as possible.

Noah and Beverly, having been watching the sunset and enjoying each other's company, suddenly realized how quiet it was. Noah turned around. "Uh. Where did they go?"

Beverly looked around. "Um…" She eventually noticed Noah's car shake a bit. "I think they're in your car."

Noah's eyes practically fell out of their sockets. "What are th-….DUDE! THAT'S _MY CAR!_ "

Beverly laughed and fell on to the sand. "Oh, my God! I can't believe them!"

" _You_ can't believe them?! That's-! My car is soiled! _Dirty!_ I can't-!" He slapped himself in the face. "Oh, my God, this isn't the first time, is it?!"

Beverly pat Noah on the back. "Sorry, man. But judging by how they act, I'm gonna say…definitely not the first time."

He fell onto his back. "I swear they better clean up afterwards. My…" He sobbed. "My _car._ "

 **77\. Memories**  
 **:: Holiday, Six, Rex**

Six closed his eyes and let the green light start to glow all around him. He was ready. He wanted to back to being the man they already knew.

Even if it almost killed him. He wanted it for them, and…he needed it for himself. This was a different world. He couldn't do what he wanted anymore. He couldn't get in contact with One, either. There was no one to guide him. So he was making his own decision and that was what he came up with.

It hurt – it hurt a _lot._ He grinded his teeth and tried not to make any noise, screaming out just once because it got to be too much. Holiday was probably making a face, Rex too. Caesar was probably just watching like nothing.

But suddenly, as the light started to blink…all of the memories came back to him. It was like a flood of the last six years – and as someone with a really _really_ good memory, each little detail arrived all at once. He had the biggest headache he'd had in _years._ Probably going to need some aspirin. And a shower. And sleep.

The light dissipated, and Rex was the first to rush over. As he pulled Six out of the machine, he looked over at Caesar. "Will he remember everything that happened while he didn't have his memories?"

"I don't see why he wouldn't," the scientist replied, looking over the numbers. He was smiling, clearly happy about his invention working correctly. Or…they hoped. The numbers looked good, but Agent Six's response would be the best measure of success.

Holiday had also stepped over to him. "Six? How do you feel?"

Six had a hand against his head and was rubbing from the outside of his eyes towards the bridge of his nose. "…biggest headache I've ever had."

"So…" Rex started. "Do you remember everything?"

The agent looked up. He stared at Rex, then at Holiday. "I treated you both terribly these past two days. I-" He paused and looked up at White Knight, who was on a screen nearby. "All _three_ of you, actually. I'm sorry. I…I don't know how to fix anything, but I'll try."

Rex slapped Six on the back. "You don't have to fix anything, Six! You weren't yourself! Or, well, you were. But not the yourself that you are now! So whatever!"

Holiday hesitated for another second before leaning forward and putting her arms around Six's neck, wrapping him in a hug. "It's good to have you back."

He didn't hug back as per usual, and had a perplexed look on his face. "You're not mad at _all?_ Even after how I treated you?"

Holiday chuckled and backed away from him, pressing his sunglasses against his chest. "You can make it up to me later. But now that we're done here…I really do have a lot of work to do. Call me if there are any problems."

As she walked out of the room, Six put his sunglasses back on, and Rex waited until the door had closed to laugh. " _Siiiiix!_ You're even crazier for Holiday than I thought! How are you _hiding_ all that?!"

Six adjusted his sunglasses and glared down at Rex, not even bothering to respond to that. "I almost-…after everything I did, you don't care at _all?"_

Rex shrugged. "It was a complicated situation, Six. I can't fault you for that."

The agent nodded. This was…an experience. Made him realize just how great things were going for him, despite losing his master only a few weeks earlier. He had Rex…Holiday…even White seemed more supportive than usual.

Caesar walked over to him. "I'm glad you're remembering everything again, Agent Six! Your younger minded self threatened me a surprising number of times."

Six raised an eyebrow. "I don't regret any of _that,"_ he said as he walked away.

Rex laughed awkwardly and rubbed his head while Caesar gulped. Well, Six was enjoying most of his company at work, anyway.


	11. 78-79

Shiiit I forgot to post again! Sorry, hahahaha. School is ridiiiiculous since it's my last semester and whatnot. Anyway I really like the first fic here so I hope you do too!

 **78\. Change in the Weather  
:: White Knight, Rex, Six, Holiday**

"Vulnerable."

Six and Holiday glanced at each other before looking at White. "...that's what he said, yes," Six responded.

"I don't know what Scarecrow did to you three, but if _Rex_ is acting like _that_ , this needs to be fixed."

Holiday brushed a hand through her bangs. "It'll be fine, White. We-"

"No. It clearly will _not_ ," White interrupted. He closed his eyes and frowned for a few seconds before opening his eyes and determinedly walking towards his companions. "Alright. He messed with your heads? Made it hard to trust each other? You need a neutral party. You can talk to me. Holiday, let's go, in your room. Six, I'll contact you when I'm done with her."

" _Excuse_ me-?!" Holiday started to say.

White didn't bother to answer, instead grabbing her arm and pulling her the way he was walking. "The sooner we get this over with, the better it is for all of you."

Six watched White tug her away. He knew there was no point in fighting when White Knight got like this.

* * *

Holiday huffed and sat on the edge of her bed, while White turned the lights on and sat in a chair across from her.

"Tell me what happened."

Holiday scoffed. "Do you actually expect me to _talk_ to you? Like you're my therapist suddenly?"

White rolled his eyes. "Holiday, you know I don't care for therapy or psychology or any of that crap. But I know that it works for overly emotional people like _you._ "

"Yeah, you're really making me want to open up to you."

"Was it about your relationship with Six?"

Holiday froze for a few seconds before turning to glare at the man in front of her. "You-! You are _just_ like them!"

White raised an eyebrow. "Meaning...?"

She shut her eyes tight and tried to stop from opening her big mouth. But, alas, it opened. " _Meaning!_ You just immediately make it about Six! My...my entire life is not about _Six!_ Losing our...whatever it was, is _not_ the worst thing that's ever happened to me!" Her eyes were tearing up the slightest bit, and she felt even stupider.

White stared at her. "So it... _was_ about Six? And you're upset because it wasn't about something else?"

"I don't know, White! Honestly?" Holiday wiped at her eyes. "It was just...so _stupid._ The fact that- that _Black Knight_ thought it would be the most effective way to _get_ to me! The fact that Scarecrow enjoyed it so _much!_ The fact that...that it _worked._ I feel pathetic, White. They underestimated me and it _still_ worked."

He didn't respond for a few seconds, thinking about what he just heard. "What did he do to you, Holiday?" he said, with a guttural sound in the back of his throat.

She covered his eyes with her fists and sighed. "It wasn't anything like that. It was just...it was just one...stupid..." She looked up at him and then immediately turned to look the other way, her cheeks turning red. "He just walked up to me, said he wanted to say something important, and kissed me. Then walked away. That was _it._ And it was stupid."

White held back from rolling his eyes. He didn't understand these kinds of idiotic emotional situations - if Scarecrow had gone further with her, maybe he'd understand. But a kiss? He waited a few seconds to see if she'd continue, but she stayed silent.

"...what do you want from him, Holiday?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Nothing, White. I don't want anything from him. I just want him...to figure out what he wants. Who he is. Obviously he's matured since losing his memories, but there's always this hesitation to things he does that used to be so _casual._ I'm not looking for some stupid fairy tale with a picket fence and kids - I just want Six to be _Six."_

He looked down for a moment and then back up at her. "You're too good for him, you know."

Holiday blinked in shock and laughed. "Was that a _compliment?_ From _you?_ "

Standing up, White shook his head. "It's not going to happen again, so remember it fondly, Holiday."

She noticed him start to walk away and stood up. "So what next? You go make Six uncomfortable by telling him about my feelings? Is that how you're going to solve this?"

"I said I'm neutral - not here to spread _gossip._ And I may not know how to solve these sorts of things, but I've read that talking about them helps, even without advice. So..." White turned towards her. "...did it?"

Holiday put her hands on her hips. "I..."

She paused, realizing that, well... "...actually, it...kind of did. Not much, but…at least I could tell _someone_."

"Then my work here is done," he said, opening her door.

"White!" Holiday called after him. "...thank you. For listening. And _please_ , after Six, talk to Rex. You two have a lot in common, you know. He could use your militaristic touch once in a while."

He rolled his eyes. "So you've said. I'll consider it." And out the door he went.

* * *

Six waited impatiently for White. Having a chat with his partner - who was claiming to be _neutral_ , okay then - was not an unfamiliar situation. But...he'd just spoken to Holiday. And Six _really_ wanted to know what happened with her.

White opened Six's door – he had access to all rooms at all times – and sat across from Six. They were silent for a few minutes while the awkward reality of what was happening settled.

"Six-"

" _What'd he do to Holiday?"_ Six said suddenly, unable to stay silent anymore.

White rolled his eyes. "This isn't about _her_ , this is about you."

Six shook his head. "Scarecrow didn't…he didn't do anything to me. He used my memory loss to make Rex and Holiday uncomfortable _about_ me, but he didn't have anything on me. Just said I was fooling myself about Rex. That he couldn't 'save the world' like I apparently expect him, too. Black Knight must not have much on me."

"You never let Providence get any info besides what I provided, that's for sure," White commented.

"So just tell me what he did to her. She kept being vague. Did he…?" Six started to feel himself getting angrier.

"No, he didn't." White was a little bothered that they both thought the same thing. It's clear that…if they hadn't figured things out when they did, Scarecrow very well _could have_. He definitely _wanted_ to. And it was disgusting. "He pretended to be you and kissed her. That's it."

"Ki-" Six didn't feel all that much better. He _touched_ her. That stupid, _stupid_ EVO _touched her_ and _held her_ and _kissed her._ His hands balled into fists. "…I'll kill him."

"You will do no such thing," White said sternly. "I know you're mad. Or disgusted. Probably both. But it's Holiday's problem, not yours."

"You know that's not true, White," Six responded. "It's _everyone's_ problem if his… _actions_ made her so uncomfortable around me."

"She wasn't uncomfortable around you." White rolled his eyes again. "She acted the same as usual, as far as I could tell. Are you sure _you're_ not the one who was acting uncomfortable?"

"What? I wasn't-…" Six frowned. "Well, she…after he…did that. She came up to me and looked so happy and she wanted to say _thanks_ for earlier and it was…I was confused as hell, but I didn't know how to ask what the hell she was talking about."

"Right." White did _not_ understand all this relationship crap.

"So. I guess…it's possible that I'm just projecting."

"It is."

"…is she not….bothered by what happened?" Six wanted to smack himself for asking that.

"She's bothered, but she's a professional above all else. Especially in these last few months. Holiday knows not to let her _feelings_ get in the way of work." White had come to respect her just a bit more since they left Providence. "So try to follow suit. Or talk to her."

" _Talk to her?_ " Six raised an eyebrow.

"You _know_ what I mean, Six. You two and your little… _thing_ could become a _problem_ if you don't deal with it."

"It's not that easy."

"I don't care. I'm just putting it out there," White said, standing up. "At least _consider_ it."

Six stayed silent and White almost rolled his eyes again. He missed when Six didn't care about this crap…but hey, age does that to a person. "I have to go talk to Rex, now, according to Holiday. Should be fun." He started to walk out of the room.

"I'll think about it," Six mumbled – White paused in case he had more to say, but the room fell silent again so he just nodded and went back on his way.

* * *

"Rex?" White knocked on his door. After a few seconds without an answer, he tried again. "Holiday asked me to come talk to you. Open the door."

Still no answer. White rolled his eyes and just walked in. A quick survey of the idea told him Rex was nowhere in sight. Groaning, he pressed his comm. " _Rex._ "

A few seconds before a crackling sound. " _What?_ "

"Where the hell did you go?"

" _Noah's. Needed a break._ "

White considered this. Rex had Noah to talk to. Unlike Six and Holiday, the kid had other friends. That was…really sad. Not that he was any better, but still. "Fine. Let me know when you're back."

" _Um…okay._ "

Ignoring how confused he sounded, White just nodded. A win/win situation – he didn't have to talk to Rex, but Rex would feel better. Everyone was happy.

Except Six. And kind of Holiday. But that was Six's own stubborn fault.

 **79\. Illogical  
:: Rex, Caesar, Six, Holiday, Noah**

Six was annoyed. Of course, he was always annoyed when forced to socialize with anyone excluding White, Holiday, or Rex (most of the time). But he was especially annoyed at _parties._ And double, no triple! annoyed when forced to _dress up_ for a party. A Halloween party, in fact. Where everyone was wearing costumes. A perfect opportunity for a stranger in a mask to pretend to be someone else, sneak into Providence, and start shooting everyone.

Not that anyone outside Providence was allowed, anyway. Noah finished basic training so technically he was a part of Providence again. And Rex needed someone his own age to hang out with or he'd be stuck around Bobo all night.

Exhaling deeply, Six enjoyed his last few seconds of silence and finally stepped through the door. He was dressed in one of his only not-green suits – it was black – and that was his costume. The end. He could be dressed up as one of the Men in Black, or as James Bond, or whatever. He didn't care. Though he was a bit curious as to what everyone else would be dressed as.

Looking around, Six was met with a few unfamiliar faces, until his eyes landed on a woman that seemed…mostly familiar. Her hair was down, which was a rare sight, but he'd recognize Holiday from any angle after knowing her so long. Err. Scratching that last statement – _most_ angles.

He took a few strides and stepped into place next to the doctor, who was currently pouring herself a glass of punch. "Did you make anything?"

She jumped a little before glancing at Six, eyeing him up and down, and rolling her eyes. "White laughed at me when I suggested making something, so I took that as a no."

Six smirked. "So what are you supposed to be, exactly?"

"Are you serious?" she stood up and turned around. "I'm a witch! You couldn't tell?"

"Didn't know if you were a specific witch or just…generic witch." Six shrugged. "What's Rex dressed as?"

"He looks like a biker from the '90s." She laughed. "And Noah's a vampire. It's an interesting combination."

Six raised an eyebrow. "A biker?" He expected Rex to dress as something like a mummy or a zombie. Maybe he'd look around for the kid later.

"That's what I said," she answered, taking a sip of the punch. "So what are you? James Bond?"

"That works."

"That-?!" she plopped her cup down. "Did you just put on the suit and not actually pick a costume?"

"Yes."

Holiday rolled her eyes again. "I should've expected as much. Y'know, you _could_ -"

She was cut off by the door near them suddenly opening, smoke pouring out of it. Holiday raised an eyebrow at the flashy display and Six gripped his swords inside his sleeves. Before either of them could react, Caesar walked into the room, completely dressed up like Spock from Star Trek.

"Oh, my God," Holiday said, covering her mouth. She didn't want to laugh, but she honestly really did. "See, Six? Look how much effort Caesar put into _his_ costume."

Six frowned. "Yes, I can see it. And I stand by my decision."

As Caesar walked towards the doctor and agent, Rex suddenly appeared from off to the side. "Bro! What…what are you _wearing?!_ "

"I'm dressed as Spock, Mijo," Caesar said, poking his pointy ears. "See? I'm Vulcan."

"Spock?" Rex asked, question marks practically popping up over his head.

Noah walked over to them. "Have you never see Star Trek, Rex? It's kind of a classic TV show."

Rex pouted. "I guess I've been too busy _saving the world!_ "

"Not too busy for your soap operas though, right?"

Rex opened his mouth to respond and closed it when he realized he didn't have a comeback. Caesar laughed at his brother's embarrassment and Six and Holiday continued to balk at how much effort Caesar put into his costume.

"I don't know, I just didn't see him as the dressing up type," Holiday said in legitimate wonder. "It's surprisingly cute."

" _Cute?_ " Six repeated, blushing just a tiny bit. Is _that_ what she thought was cute? Wasting money on stupid costumes and dressing up like an idiot?

"Not _that_ kind of cute, like…little kid cute! You know what I mean!" Holiday slapped his chest. "Don't go misinterpreting me."

"I…sorry," Six said. "It had me a little concerned about your type, though."

Holiday laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. "Don't be mean!" she said while continuing to laugh. "Ahh…you're making _me_ seem like the mean one, now!"

Six smirked again. "All part of being a witch, I imagine."

Caesar walked over to them, apparently done with his brother and friend. "Agent Six, Dr. Holiday! I'm sure you two can recognize such an iconic character, correct?"

They both nodded. "I watched a decent bit of Star Trek when I was a kid," Holiday confessed.

"And I had to fight an EVO at a comic book convention last year," Six added. "Rex begged to stay behind afterwards and Holiday wouldn't let me leave him."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that."

"Yeah. Thanks for that."

"Excellent! I'm going to see who else recognizes great television," Caesar said with a smile, walking off towards some scientists Six was unfamiliar with.

"…I wonder if White dressed up as anything," Holiday said.

Six almost spit out his drink. "Seriously?"

She shrugged. "Well, why not? It _is_ Halloween!"

"I don't think White dressed up for Halloween even when he _wasn't_ trapped in his box. I definitely doubt-"

He was cut off by the main screen in the room blinking on, revealing…what should have been White Knight and what instead was…. … … … …an adult man with a sheet over his head.

"Is he-"

"...a ghost," Six finished, not really believing what he was seeing. "I...I'm not sure what's going on anymore."

Holiday starting laughing again and Six just stared off. This was the weirdest Halloween _ever._


	12. 80-81

Oh man we're really close to the end;;; And I don't have #82 done yet HAHAHA whoops. I'll get it done by next week noooooooo worriiiiiiiiiiiies. This is my shortest chapter ever but y'all have some loooong ass fics coming soon so you can deal :P Enjoy!

 **80\. Only Human**  
 **:: White Knight**

Sometimes it was difficult to be the…"average" person. Rex was obviously not average or normal, Six had strength that should've been beyond human possibility, and Holiday and Caesar were both above genius level intelligence. They were to the next level, whatever the hell that was.

Back in the day, White didn't mind as much. When he worked alongside other soldiers that were as normal as him, it was just how life was supposed to be. Normal, human men and women working together to fight the same thing. Then he brought Six along – not that it was a bad decision, no, no, it was an important decision, led to finding Rex and a cure – and suddenly things went downhill for normal humans.

He shouldn't complain and he knew that, but sometimes it was weird being in charge of everything when you could be considered the weakest of the group. Okay, scratch that, he could kill Caesar if he wanted to. But Holiday had the combined strength of Six never letting anything happen to her if he could help it, so all-in-all White was not at the top of his game.

Only 43 years old and he felt like an old man. Tired, annoyed, and angry at everything. Maybe it was his own fault he was like this. Maybe he was just rambling in his own mind, eventually thinking about the inevitability of death and the end of the world. But maybe he was happy – happy that despite his weaknesses, there was Rex and Six and Holiday (and Caesar…) who were strong and powerful and knew what they were doing. He could trust them, he was sure of that.

 **81\. A Place to Belong**  
 **:: Circe, Cricket, Skwydd, Tuck**

She hadn't really had a home since she was very young.

The Nanite Event occurred when she only ten years old. It was horrific – the feeling of mutating, of knowing that you're no longer in control of your body, of watching your parents horrified expressions as you destroy their car and half of your home. And suddenly they were gone – left you behind, at only ten years old. They were scared – what else could they do? She could've gotten worse and worse for all they knew. It was a gamble and they decided to fold.

The Pack opened up to her. Van Kleiss promised her a home if she did work for him. That was the closest thing to a home or a family that she'd had in a long time. It wasn't perfect, in fact it was downright terrible, but it was still a _home._ All she'd wanted for the past five years was a home and she finally had it.

Unfortunately, craziness doesn't get better over time, it gets worse. Van Kleiss kept trying to hurt people with his schemes and she couldn't take it anymore. She was gone. Hopefully forever – everyone knew that when you left a group of "bad guys" you'd regret it, but she was confident she could stay hidden.

In Hong Kong…Circe finally felt like part of a genuine family. She loved Cricket more than anything – she'd become her best friend and confidante, the best one she'd ever had. Skwydd and Tuck were like her adorable younger brothers – she loved them unconditionally. They also had experience of manipulation by an evil man, but they got out just like her. It was a pretty easy thing to bond over, she thought


	13. 82-83

Heyyyyy guys! I moved some fics around because I still hadn't gotten 82 done (which is now 84 hahaha) aaaand I guess I'm putting this on a temporary hiatus while I try to get those done along with school shit bahhh. Really I think I'm just waiting for inspiration! Where's it at? I just don't know. Anyway here's some cute fics yayyy

 **82\. Falling  
:: Rex, Six, Holiday, White**

She couldn't stop picturing it. Not just his sleeping, injured body lying on the table in her lab, but everything that _happened._ Everyone's reactions. It was so quick that it probably took less than a second. But it was traumatizing. He was just flying like normal, trying to get the hang of his Boogie Pack (she still didn't approve of the name, but that was beside the point), when he just started flying up. Six yelled at him to come back down, but Rex just kept going. Trying to see how high he could go.

It was like Icarus. Or, well, some mechanical EVO version of Icarus. Once Rex reached a certain height, his Boogie Pack just fell apart completely, and he started falling with scrap metal all around him. It had to be at least a fifty foot fall. Six ran as fast as he could, but Rex smacked into a tree branch before Six caught up.

He was all scratched up, bloody, sweaty, with tears streaming down his face. He was passed out from the impact, but he wasn't going to forget the incident anytime soon.

Holiday covered her face with her hands. She almost wanted to try and induce his amnesia so he wouldn't have to remember this. But it was a terrible thought, she couldn't bear to introduce herself to Rex for a third time. And she knew Six couldn't either – despite his attempts to seem cold, he really did care about the kid. She could tell the agent was terribly upset that he didn't prevent Rex's accident…but she knew, and Six knew it too – accidents happen.

White, on the other hand, was being an absolute _terror._ She knew he didn't want to care about Rex – and he was doing a damn good job of that – but his insensitivity towards this incident was downright unacceptable! It was _inhuman_ to care so little about a child. He just kept telling her to wake him up! Wake him up! Well there was no way in Hell she was forcing Rex awake only eight hours after he fell unconscious. It was just…unnecessary. And stupid. And White Knight could go to Hell for all she cared.

At fifteen hours, it was four in the morning and she couldn't sleep, which just made it worse. Every time she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, she just saw images of Rex's terrified face as he fell through those branches. She should've been able to _do_ something.

Six came by with coffee at one point – he scolded her for still being awake, but Holiday could tell from looking up at him that he hadn't slept either. Probably for the exact same reasons, even if he wouldn't admit it.

At twenty hours, Holiday started to get nervous. White Knight was still telling her to try to force Rex awake, and Six was making more frequent stops to "yell at her" (check on Rex.) If they hit twenty-four hours, of course she would try to wake him up. If she didn't pass out by then, of course.

At twenty-two hours and forty-seven minutes, Rex's fist clenched. Holiday almost didn't notice – she was practically nodding off, but Six and his perfect timing had walked in just a minute earlier and he immediately pointed it out. Holiday scrambled over to Rex and started whispering to him in the hopes that he'd open his eyes.

Six stood on the other side, trying to be stoic, but holding his breath when Holiday stopped speaking.

At twenty-two hours and forty-nine minutes, Rex blinked up at them and smiled wearily.

 **83\. Breakfast  
:: Six, Holiday**

It'd been awful.

Seeing him lying there - his breathing staggered, his heart rate continually fluctuating, his skin cold. It reminded her of before he lost his memory, when Beverly had been cured, and she thought he was _dead_. This time she had machines to confirm he was still alive, but...she couldn't help herself but be scared for him.

Still, she knew what Six would say if he saw her like this. He'd tell her to go to sleep or to get something to eat - stop worrying so much.

But Six wasn't awake to tell her that. It'd already been over a day and he still hadn't woken up. She was concerned to begin with, but it was starting to take a toll. She knew she wasn't going to sleep until he was moving again. She tried to eat, but she couldn't stomach a thing. So when she left the room they kept Six in, finally checking the time to see that it was six in the morning, Rebecca ended up just grabbing herself a glass of water.

She gulped it down and stared at the glass in her hand for a few seconds. She was losing focus. But she needed to concentrate if she wanted to get Six back.

Holiday stepped in front of the door, grabbing the clipboard with Six's chart that was hanging nearby. She needed to record his process to make sure he was stabilizing properly. And it'd been a few hours since she last wrote something down, so she figured now would be good a time as ever.

However, when she opened the door and started walking inside the room, the first thing she saw made her drop the clipboard in shock.

Six sat on the bed they'd put him in, cradling his head, the breathing mask already removed and laying next to him. Noticing her presence, he looked up to her.

"...I'm _starving._ "

She didn't even hear him; her ears had turned red and tears had pricked at her eyes as she immediately ran over and hugged him tightly, her arms around his neck.

He stiffened a bit at the contact, not used to such intimacy from the doctor, but eventually let his hands rest on her waist. He must've been out longer than he thought.

"Oh, thank _God_ you're alright, Six!" she mumbled quietly, before pulling back just a bit so she could grab his face and plant a kiss on his cheek. At this point she didn't care how he took that - she was just _ecstatic_ to have him back.

He cocked an eyebrow at the feel of her lips on his skin - well _that_ was unexpected - and a smirk made its way on to his face. Even when Holiday backed off of him and rubbed the tears out of her eyes, he kept his hands on her waist.

"Sorry, I'm just-... _sorry_ ," she mumbled, somewhere between laughing and crying in such a way that made Six feel...strange. In a good way.

He removed his hands at that thought. "So...breakfast?"

She laughed. "Sure - I'll have Bobo make you something. You should go shower while you wait, though. Then I need to do some tests on you."

He raised an eyebrow before looking down at himself. He took a sniff and made a face. "Point taken. I guess I'll go take care of that." He hopped off the table and stretched out his limbs. "How long was I out?"

"A little over two days," she replied quickly; already gathering up his charts and any medical supplies she'd need to sterilize. She could've said the exact number of hours, but didn't feel like watching him roll his eyes at her.

"...can't remember the last time I slept that long," he mumbled while rolling his shoulder. "Have you slept at all?"

Pausing, she smiled a bit and shook her head. This man knew her too well. "No."

Six frowned. He knew that it was true, but he was hoping she'd at least gotten in a nap somewhere. "You should sleep, Holiday."

"I will. Don't worry about me, Six," she replied with a smile. "Just...don't do that again, alright?"

He smirked. "I'll try."

And she watched his back as he stepped out the door.


	14. 84-85

Sorry for the lack of updates! Things happened, fandoms changed, etc. Anyway! I got suddenly inspired today and finally wrote 84, so now I can post a few more chapters. You guys have waited for a long time so I won't spread them out too much. Enjoy!

 **84\. Echoes  
:: Six, Holiday :: I think this may be the last in my **_**When EVOs Attack!**_ **Series.**

It was a relatively normal day. Or, well, it was a little more exciting than normal! Six and Holiday were finally – _finally!_ , Rex exclaimed over and over – on a date. And although only the people closest to him would've guessed it, Six was very excited and very nervous. Holiday was just the same. Neither of them had been on a date in years.

Six arrived at her room at 7 pm on the dot, just like he promised. He was in a green suit as always, but he put a little extra care into his hair and tie choice for once. He knocked on the door and patiently waited for his _date_ , hoping his heart wasn't beating so loud that she could hear it.

Holiday opened the door and gave him an apologetic smile as she was putting her hair up. "Sorry, just – uh, just give me another minute. You can come in!" She walked back into the bathroom to finish up.

Six shrugged and stepped inside, taking a look around. He'd been in Holiday's room before – plenty of times, actually. It was...quaint, in how she decorated she small space. He didn't bother decorating his own room, but other than that they had identical dorms. His eyes kept wandering since he didn't know what else to do – would sitting on her bed be too casual? Leaning against the wall too try-hard? – He wasn't sure what Holiday liked. She liked _him_ , he guessed, but what did that actually _mean?_

As he started sizing up her dresser and thinking if he could pick it up and throw it at an intruder if necessary – and he definitely could, it was definitely under 200 lb – Holiday finally came out of the bathroom again, looking stunning as usual.

"Sorry about that," she smiled at him. "Are you ready to go?"

Six nodded down at her. He was about to start walking and then he remembered... "You look, um." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "You look very beautiful."

Holiday beamed. "Ooohh, this old thing? It's nothing!" She clearly lied, twirling around in her cute sundress. It was a pastel pink color with flowers decorating the middle like a belt. "But thank you, Six. You look very handsome, too!"

He had to suppress a blush – not because she called him handsome, but the _way_ she said it was like... It was just embarrassing. He couldn't even describe it. "Alright, um...let's go then."

The doctor was a bit giggly, she was going on a date! With Agent Six! And then not only that, but he was actually trying really hard to keep her happy. She knew him pretty well after three years of working together and his stiffness and throat-clearing were not invisible to her.

They had a perfectly awkward car ride to the Mexican restaurant Six had picked out – the same restaurant that Holiday had mentioned previously to him was one of her favorites. It was nice to know he paid attention. They talked about work, and Rex, and Holiday asked some questions about White that Six refused to answer...their usual conversation topics. And Six was worried about that. Was usual good? Or should he be talking about new things? He didn't have that much to talk about. It's not like they watched the same TV shows or read the same books (not that he had time to do either, but still).

When they arrived at the restaurant, the weather was perfect and the sun was just barely setting over the horizon. Obviously, they had to get an outdoor seat to enjoy it properly. Holiday ordered a glass of wine and Six ordered some water with lime while they looked through their menus and watched the sun go down.

Six was still nervous. He felt like he wasn't doing _enough_ to make sure she enjoyed herself. Though she was smiling, and laughing, and looking happy...it was possible she was just pretending to spare his feelings. Holiday was definitely the type to do that. He sipped his water and stared at her face. She was just enjoying the sunset still...looking beautiful as ever.

"...Holiday," Six started, putting his glass and menu down.

She looked over at him. "Yeah?"

"...do you-"

Six was cut off by a sudden rumbling of the earth under them and the sounds of very _large_ footsteps in the distance. Both of them stared at each other in fear as they realized what was going on – an EVO was coming. And it was a _huge_ one.

No time for paranoia, Six thought, as he got on his commlink and told Rex what was going on. Holiday sighed and reached into her purse, pulling out the tranquilizer gun that she always carried with her no matter what.

Six stood up and pulled out his swords, positioning himself for when the EVO came from wherever-it-was-coming-from. They couldn't see it yet, but they could still _feel_ it. And it was when Six started questioning what direction it could even be coming from that it _burst_ out of the ground and into the air.

Most of the other restaurant patrons had left, but the few that stayed – along with Holiday and Six – stared in awe at the creature. It was, indeed, gigantic, but it was also very beautiful. The EVO almost looked like some kind of cross between an armadillo and a tiger – but with a shiny coat that didn't even make sense as it'd just popped out of the ground. But Six wasn't interesting in gawking at its pretty fur, this thing was _definitely_ ready to attack.

Mostly Six just wanted to keep it back away from the restaurant – this _was_ Holiday's favorite, after all – until Rex and some more equipped soldiers arrived. It was big, but it didn't seem _too_ strong, so he'd be able to handle that much.

At least, that's what he assumed. The fight was perfectly fine, Holiday didn't even have to join in (though she was standing nearby with her gun facing the creature if Six needed her at any moment). Until suddenly, after about ten minutes of back-and-forth, the EVO froze and started shaking. Six backed up a bit, not knowing what to expect, and then needles started shooting out of the EVO and in every direction possible.

With his cat-like reflexes, Six managed to avoid getting hit with any of the quills. But unfortunately for her, Holiday's reflexes were not quite as good. She let out a quiet " _Ow!"_ when one of them sliced her on the side of her arm. She immediately covered the wound and scolded herself for not seeing that coming.

While Holiday sat down to press water against the wound with a napkin, Six nervously looked between her and the EVO. Should he sit down and help her? Obviously he should keep fighting the EVO. But what if it did that again?

"Holiday – you should go inside," he said, taking a defensive stance so the EVO couldn't come forward.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm-" Holiday suddenly stopped, feeling a brief wave of nausea. "Oh, God…"

Six raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "Possibly not. Those quills could be poisonous…or at the very least, hallucinogenic. I should really-" She paused again to take a deep breath and try to avoid puking. She felt _awful._

The agent grimaced and got on his comm again. "Rex! What's your ETA?" He nodded as Rex answered and looked down at his date again. "Rex says he'll be here in a few minutes, then we'll get you some help. Can you hold out until then?"

Holiday nodded and waved Six off so he could continue his fight. "I'll be…ugh. I'll be fine. Just go," she said confidently. But as Six jumped off to do his job, her head started pulsing even harder and Holiday considered the possibility that she _wouldn't_ be fine.

She was feeling nauseas, her head was starting to feel a migraine-like pain, and she was starting to shake. How could she have been so _stupid_ as to get hit with one of those quills?! She kept patting more water onto the wound in the hopes that it would suppress the poison or toxin or whatever was doing this to her. But the pulsing in her head was getting worse and worse and she was definitely started to hear voices, too. Oh, God. This might have to go on her list of worst dates if she ends up in the hospital.

Another minute of that and Holiday started to feel herself lose consciousness. She started repeating mathematical equations in her head to keep herself steady, but she could only keep that up for so long before she blacked out completely.

As she became limp on the small chair she'd been sitting in, Providence finally arrived, and Six came back over to her. As soon as he saw her passed out, he started to panic. " _Holiday!_ " he shouted, rushing to her side and putting two fingers on her neck. She still had a pulse, good. She was still breathing…great. He tried yelling at her a few different ways to wake her up ( _"Rex is in danger!" "Bobo is going through your drawers again!" "White Knight is transferring you to Alaska!")_ but nothing was working.

So, reluctantly, Six finally just slapped her across the face. It was a light slap, of course! He'd never hit Holiday in a way that could hurt her. But it was all he could think of. And, lucky for him, she started to open her eyes. But on the unlucky side, her eyes were bright red. _That_ could not be good.

"Holiday? Can you hear me?"

The doctor's brain was a jumbled mess. She could hear noises – _lots_ and lots of noises. But they were like static, buzzing all around her head and trying to drive her insane. There were occasional voices in the back of her head – telling her to attack and to fight and to shoot, which was just weird. Her vision was blurry and sketchy and she wasn't sure what was going on anymore. But her heart was pounding, her head was a mess, and she didn't know where or who she was.

Six was shaking her and trying to get her to respond when she suddenly shoved her away. He blinked. "Holiday?"

She stood up, limbs kind of hanging off of her like she had forgotten how to use them. She looked in his direction, but only responded with a bubbling sound and some growls.

"…Holiday, we need to get you to a medic. Can you understand me?" He put his hands up defensively, but it was obvious that she wasn't grasping a single word he was saying.

Holiday shivered a bit and lunged forward, trying to scratch Six with her nails. Whatever was going through her head at that moment didn't seem to realize she had a sort-of gun on the table, but that just worked out in Six's favor.

"I don't want to do this, Holiday," he said while dodging her attacks. "But you're not leaving me any choice!" At her next swipe, Six grabbed her wrist and slammed her onto the table where they were _supposed_ to be enjoying a nice dinner together. He was stupid to think they could have a nice meal without any problems. He grabbed onto her other wrist and slammed it down, too.

Holiday growled and shook under his grasp – moving her legs up to start kicking his back. Six was lucky that she decided to forego her heavy boots for some clogs, they just fell off after a few kicks and then all that was attacking him was her feet.

As he moved both of her wrists to one hand so he could comm someone for help, Rex came up behind him. " _Whoa_ , Six! What are-?!" He felt embarrassed. "What are you two _doing?!"_

Six turned his head and glared. "Holiday was _hit_ and now she's trying to kill me! Is that the answer you were looking for?"

Rex blinked. "Hit? Like…with what?" He walked over to look at her and immediately flinched at her red eyes. "Oh, gross…"

The agent sighed. "We need to restrain her and bring her to the medic bay _immediately._ And then hope to God this isn't permanent, or you're switching to Caesar as your primary care physician."

Rex frowned and activated his Smack Hands. "Leave it to me."

Xx

When Holiday woke up again, everything was groggy. She was in a significant amount of pain, and yet she also felt strangely calm. It was a buzzy pain that made her feel alive, more than anything. But she was also very tired.

Slowly – very, _very_ slowly – Holiday opened her eyes. The lights were _so_ bright and they hurt so bad, but she wanted to know where she was. And what time it was! So she powered through it and glared at the ceiling.

She recognized that ceiling. This was the medbay. Had something happened-?

… _oh._ All she could remember was getting hit with a quill before blacking out. _God_ , that's so embarrassing. She really shouldn't have gotten hit in the first place. Like some kind of amateur! Ugh.

As she tried squeezing her hand to get the blood flowing again, there was shuffling nearby and suddenly a hand swiping her bangs out of her face. "H-Holiday? Are you…are you awake?"

She blinked up at Six and smiled. He looked so worried. So…cute. She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out, so she just nodded.

"Do you want to sit up?" He sounded so nervous.

Holiday just nodded again and Six helped her adjust. She really wanted to know how long she'd been out. Six gets worried about her if she sleeps for an extra hour, so his state wasn't really telling her anything.

"Let me get you some water," he said as he rushed over to the sink.

After taking a long sip, Holiday hoped she'd be able to talk again. "…how-" Oh, God, her voice was so scratchy and awful-sounding. "…how long?"

Six sighed. "…three days."

She blinked. Wow. She hadn't gotten _that_ much sleep in a very long time. And now that he mentioned it – she finally took a good look at his face – and Six _kind of_ looked like Hell. Dark bags under his eyes, unshaven face, hair was a mess. She felt her heart swell knowing he'd stayed up and probably by her side for most of that time.

Not realizing how long she'd been monologue-ing, Holiday blinked again as Six put a hand on her cheek. "How do you feel?"

She put her hand over his. "F-…fine. I'm fine," she said slowly. "Just need to…adjust."

Six thought about taking his hand away, but felt a pull towards her. He was so nervous for that date and then he was so, _so_ scared that he'd lost her, he didn't know what to do.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Six suddenly tugged her to him and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. Nothing that could tire her out, but…he needed to.

Holiday blinked again – she was still adjusting to the light, but _man_! Six was just being so affectionate! – and then smiled. "Miss…me?"

Six smiled back. "It's good to have you back."

 **85\. Advantage  
:: Black Knight, Beverly, Holiday, Six, White, Bobo, Caesar. Warning ahead of time: this one leaves off as a cliffhanger. I couldn't get inspired to finish it lmao**

"We don't need them, Ma'am."

Black Knight scowled. " _Yes,_ Soldier. Yes, we do. Especially if Rex ever comes back. He'd be much more easily trusting if we had his 'parents' on our side."

"Well they seem to have made their decisions as final. Not that…you're not persuasive, but everyone knows Six's reputation. An army of our men couldn't stand up to him."

She glared down at him. "You're thinking too big. We're not going to go after the strongest one; that would be stupid."

The soldier stayed silent, waiting for her to continue talking.

"…White Knight is dead. Six's record was wiped clean. But Dr. Holiday is an open book. She's an emotional wreck because of her sister."

"U-um, Ma'am, she was cured a couple months ago. I don't think we'll be able to use that as leverage."

Black Knight rolled her eyes. "Don't interrupt me. We don't need an EVO sister, we just need the sister. Do you understand?"

He was silent for a moment, almost hesitating, before nodding. "Yes, Ma'am."

"I'll take care of the formalities. Just make accommodations so that she's safe and comfortable while she's here."

A salute, and the soldier was out of her office. Black Knight sighed and sat down at her desk. Hard to believe a dead man was bubbled up in there just a few days earlier. Still, it was so hard to find good help for an organization like Providence.

She looked out at the wall and closed her eyes for a brief moment of peace. After that was over, she clicked a few keys on her computer and picked up the phone. She had to make a _very_ convincing phone call.

xxx

"Six."

" _What?_ "

Holiday leaned back a bit at his snap. "Don't use that tone with me. We need to talk."

Six leaned forward and pushed his hands over the top of his head. "I haven't heard from Knight yet."

After a pause, Holiday took a few steps and sat next to him. "…even so, we need to talk about what we're doing. I only have a hundred dollars left and I'm not going to be okay with you stealing."

He took off his sunglasses and looked over at her. "He said he'd contact us by tonight. We can talk if we don't hear from him by midnight, but before then, I'd rather focus on staying out of sight."

Holiday looked around. They were in a small diner – a year ago this would've been like a pleasant date, but now it was just…tiring. Their plan with White Knight and Bobo had so many potential courses of disaster. It'd been almost a week – they were on the seventh day since White's explosive 'death' – and they were supposed to have heard from him by now. He said he'd provide them with a new place to stay while they wait for Rex, so Six hadn't tried to contact anyone else.

Meanwhile, they'd been staying in cheap motels – one bed, back-to-back awkwardness – and living off the cash Holiday took out last time she was at the bank. She couldn't use a credit card and risk letting Providence know where she and Six were, and Six didn't have any cards since he (as she recently discovered) was not actually a registered United States citizen. It wasn't a conversation she planned on having with him anytime soon, but _how did he have a government job if he wasn't a citizen?!_ How many strings were pulled to get him working for Providence? What country _did_ he have citizenship in? _Any?!_

"We'll stay out of sight better if you stop talking about staying out of sight," she said with a sigh. "Just…order some food and eat up quick. I want to get back to the motel and see if Beverly called back yet."

He put his sunglasses back on. "Why's it taking her five days to get back to you? I thought kids her age were always on their phones."

Holiday pushed her bangs back. "I…don't know. Maybe she's busy with other things. Maybe she lost her phone. Maybe she's – _Christ_ – maybe she's been kidnapped and can't access her pho-"

Six put his hand on her shoulder. "Holiday. I'm sure she'll message you back soon. Maybe she and White Knight are making us impatient together."

She laughed awkwardly and shrugged his hand off. "So…what are you gonna order?"

He shrugged back. "Coffee. Maybe a sandwich. I'm not very hungry."

Holiday bit the inside of her cheek. "We don't know the next time we'll get to eat, so you should make the most of it."

Six rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. Just make sure you do the same."

Xxx

When they got back to the motel, Holiday immediately grabbed her phone off the charger and typed in her password. And thank _God_ , she finally had a message from Beverly! She was smiling brightly when Six walked in the room.

"She called?"

"Yup!" Holiday said. "She probably just couldn't find her phone for a few days. Wouldn't surprise me." She chuckled and pressed the button to listen to the message.

It started to play, and for the first ten seconds it was completely silent – Holiday tore it away from her ear to stare at the receiver and make sure she didn't accidentally mute it. She pressed the speakerphone button just as some light crackling sounds started, with a muffled voice in the background.

She glared at her phone and Six walked closer to her as the voice got clearer.

"… _finally_ , here we go," the voice said, and Holiday's eyes widened. She recognized that voice. "Dr. Holiday, hello. This is Black Knight, and as I'm sure you noticed, this message is coming from your sister's phone."

Holiday was shaking and Six grabbed the phone from her as she sat down.

"We have Beverly. As of right now, she is unharmed and just waiting around for her big sister to come back."

' _As of right now'_ repeated in Holiday's head over and over while Six glared down at the phone and then glared out the window of their motel room. Black Knight still didn't know where they were, but this…complicated things.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell her that you left Providence. When I told her you'd gone off the grid and we needed another way to contact you, she was _very_ cooperative and _very_ helpful. Hard to believe she was a mindless, incurable EVO just a few weeks ago."

Six raised an eyebrow at that – he hadn't been told that Beverly was an EVO. He supposed it wasn't relevant anymore, but he didn't like being kept in the dark on important details. But it didn't matter – Holiday was still shaking and had her head in her hands.

"Come back to Providence Headquarters, Dr. Holiday. And bring Agent Six with you. Neither of you will be punished for leaving, but we'd prefer that you were here for Rex's eventual return. Don't comply, and it's possible little _Beverly_ here might get into an accident. There's lots of weapons and dangerous places at Headquarters, who knows what she could get into? You have two days to respond."

And the message cut there. Six glared down at Holiday's phone as it turned into a dial tone, and he quickly hung up and looked over at the doctor. She hadn't moved for almost a minute, but he didn't know what to say. They didn't have a lot of options, but they were still waiting to hear from White.

After another minute, he sat down next to her. "…Holiday."

She shook her head, hands still covering her eyes. "I-I know. I _know._ We need to figure something out. J-just give me another minute."

Six looked away from her, not really knowing what to say. He _could_ say Beverly would be alright, but he didn't want to get her hopes up. In Black Knight's hands, who could tell what would happen? Beverly could already be dead for all they knew. He doubted it, but…they'd never know until they came back.

They didn't need this pressure added to waiting for White and not knowing if Rex was coming back soon or not. They didn't need _any_ added stress – especially not Holiday, who was starting to shake all over – considering what they'd gone through in the past week.

As they continued to sit in an awkward, trembling silence, Six felt a buzz in his pocket and looked down. His phone was ringing.

"…Six here."

After a second, Six nodded. "Good to hear from you. But…we've got a situation."

Holiday looked up. She mouthed _"Is that White?"_ to him, and Six nodded again in response as he continued listening to what their old boss had to say.

She just watched him, trying to get rid of her terrified anxiety in the hopes that White would be able to help them keep Beverly safe. If he didn't have a plan…she didn't know what they'd do.


	15. 86-87

Here's another chapter on the saaaame day. These were written a while ago, buuuttt they're still good lmao

 **86\. Picking up the Pieces**  
 **:: Six, Holiday, Rex, White, Bobo. You've read fics with this plot 600 times, but I thought I'd try it out. On that note, I ended this kind of shittily 'cause I couldn't really continue without turning it into a gigaaaaantic fic. Don't got time for that! So take it as it is!**

He felt tired. Tired and kinda sore. He twitched his fingers to feel a soft mattress underneath him – well, at least that probably meant he was somewhere safe! Positive thinking. He shook his shoulders a bit to see how well they moved – yep, everything seemed to be working fine. It seems like he really didn't need to be so paranoid.

With that in mind, he sat up, the blanket that was on top of him crumpling on his lap. Immediately, he heard a gasp and some shoes clacking as a gorgeous lady walked over to him. She looked really concerned about something.

"Rex? Rex, how are you feeling?"

He raised an eyebrow. " _Te conozco?"_

The woman looked a bit taken aback and bit her lip. "Um…yes. Rex, my name is Dr. Holiday. Do you remember me?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, sometimes things just slip my mind!" he said with a shrug and a chuckle.

Dr. Holiday smiled sadly and nodded, reaching up to the comm in her ear. "Six? Yeah. Yeah. …no. He doesn't. I know. See you soon."

"So, uh…Dr. H," Rex said awkwardly. "…why exactly am I here? I can't really remember what happened before I woke up just now."

She nodded again. "You were knocked out. After a fall. A…a very, very bad fall."

Rex's eyes widened and he looked down at himself. "Uh…no offense, but, how bad could it've been? I don't seem injured or anything."

"You've been asleep for a couple days," she said, clearly trying to stay unemotional but ultimately failing. "And you healed very quickly. It's remarkable, actually."

"Days? Like…how many?"

She looked down at her chart. "It's been…a little over three days. Seventy-eight hours, to be exact."

"…wow," Rex's eyes widened. "I probably won't need to sleep for, like, a _year_ after that, huh?"

Holiday chuckled. "If only it worked that way."

They continued to chat idly for a few minutes when a tall Asian man wearing a green suit stepped into the room. Oh, and he was wearing sunglasses, too. What a weirdo. Rex cupped a hand over his mouth and faced the doctor. "Who's this guy?"

She looked up at Six, who had a completely unemotional look on his face. She knew it was a farce, but Rex…Rex didn't know anything about them anymore. "This is Agent Six."

"Your name is _Six?_ " Rex laughed. "Do you have brothers named Three, Four, and Five?"

Six shoved his hands into his pockets. "Something like that. You don't remember me, do you?"

"…no, sorry," Rex shrugged. "I've never been very good with faces. Or names. Though I feel like I would remember a name like that!" He smiled, hoping they'd laugh.

Neither one did, instead they just looked at each other with concerned expressions. Rex grimaced. "Oh, uh…sore subject?"

Six shook his head. "No." He pointed at the doctor and then pointed his thumb back to another part of the room. "A word?"

She nodded and moved in the direction he pointed, giving Rex an apologetic smile beforehand. Rex just shrugged and lied down on the table again, not really caring enough to listen into their conversation.

"Did you inform White yet?"

She shook her head. "No, and I-…I think we should wait. Maybe we can trigger something to bring back his memories, or maybe-"

" _Holiday._ "

"I know, Six! Okay? I know it's not gonna happen! But I just…he doesn't need White Knight yelling at him right now. He needs us – yes, that includes _you_ – to explain to him what's going on."

"…I know. But he'll need to find out eventually."

She looked down and wrapped her arms around herself. "I figured this day would come, but I didn't think it'd hurt this much," she said with a sad chuckle.

Six felt his hand twitch, almost wanting to reach out and comfort her somehow, but he stayed completely still. "I brought his journal."

"Good," she said. "That should help. I hope."

"In case he doesn't believe us?"

"…yeah."

They both walked back over to where Rex was laying and Holiday put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Rex."

"Hey, Doc!" he said while sitting up. "So what'd you two talk about? Me, I'm guessing?"

They did that thing again – the thing he was starting to get annoyed by – where they just looked at each other whenever he asked a question. "Yes, Rex. We…we have some things to discuss with you."

"Like what?"

"Well, before we do, I want to warn you…some of it is going to sound pretty weird," Holiday said. "Like…almost unbelievable."

"Can't be weirder than Six wearing sunglasses indoors, right?" Rex smirked.

Six pouted for a half-second before going back to his neutral expression. "A bit weirder than that. Right now you're dealing with amnesia, so I'm going to just lay it out on the table. Four years ago a laboratory in Europe exploded and released billions of tiny machines called nanites all over the Earth. They embedded themselves into all living things which now are able to mutate into horrific creatures at any moment."

They stared down at him and he just stared back, not sure whether or not they expected him to take this seriously. "This sounds like a scifi movie."

"It's not a movie, Rex, millions of people have mutated or died because of other's mutations."

Rex's eyes widened. "Whoa! More like a scifi apocalypse movie!"

"Only it's real, Kid. Keep that in mind."

Holiday frowned at Six and then looked back at Rex. "That's…the gist of it. The mutated people or animals are called EVOs, and you're…actually an EVO yourself, Rex."

"What?" Rex jumped off the table and looked at himself, bottom-to-top, back-to-front. "Uh…I mean, I guess I don't know for sure, 'cause of…amnesia? But I feel pretty normal."

"It's not an obvious mutation. You can create machines with your body," Holiday said. "You probably don't remember how to do it, but it's alright, we'll-"

She was cut off by Rex squeezing his eyes shut and grunting, and she realized after a moment that he was trying to do exactly what she said. "Rex, maybe you should wait until you're in a-"

 _Again_ , she was cut off, this time by Rex's Boogie Pack jutting out of his back and smacking into some chairs. He smiled brightly and looked back and forth between the two main parts of his machine. " _Awesome!_ "

Holiday put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "It's good to know he's the same old Rex, at least."

Six rolled his eyes. "That's one way to look at it."

"This is so cool!" Rex shouted, having started up the engines of his Boogie Pack. After attempting to lift himself off the ground, the machine fell apart, metal landing all over the floor and Rex landing on his butt. "...and now it's not." He rubbed his butt and stood up. "So I guess your story checks out! And I don't think I'm dreaming."

"You're not," Six said.

"So then…who are you two?" Rex rolled his shoulders. "I'd guess you're my parents, but…I don't really look like either of you as far as I can tell."

"I'm your doctor – both medically and when it comes to your nanites," Holiday said. "And Six is…well, you always liked to call him your nanny."

Six glared over at her.

"He seems like a pretty _aggro_ -nanny to me," Rex said, smirking again.

Six's eyes widened while Holiday snickered a put a hand over her mouth. "You used to say that before you lost your memories, actually."

"Huh…so does that mean it's still an original?" Rex wondered. "Or is it, like…it's been done before, but by me…? Y'know?"

Holiday smiled at him. "I think it's still original to you. Now…if you're okay with it, I have some tests I need to do to see what happened to your head."

Rex tilted his head to the side. "I thought you already knew what happened."

"She needs to know more specifically," Six said before Holiday could. "In case there's something in your brain that could indicate why exactly you lost your memories and if it'll happen again."

"Agai-?!" Rex looked back and forth between them. "Wait, so, like, this is a regular thing? I lose my memories a lot? How many times has this happened? How long have I known you guys?"

"It's never happened with us before," Six grunted. "I first found you about seven months ago and you had lost your memories then, too, but other than that, this is the first time."

"…oh." Rex closed his eyes and pouted as he considered this. "So this is as new for you two as it is for me, huh?"

"Basically, yes," Holiday said. She paused for a second to glance over at Six before looking back down at Rex. "I…I know this is probably a lot to take in. We can take you back to your room if you want to see if any of your stuff seems familiar."

"My room?" Rex hopped up. "Nice! I've always wanted my own room! Or…well, I _think_ I've always wanted my own room!"

Six and Holiday both frowned. It was clear Rex was putting on some kind of façade, 'cause they couldn't understand how anyone could take losing their memories so casually. But…he was just a kid. Maybe he didn't really understand the extent of what was happening. Maybe he really wasn't taking them seriously.

"Y'know, I know I'm pullin' this out of nowhere, but…where are my parents?"

They both froze, eyes wide. Holiday looked over at Six again, wondering if he wanted to be the one to share the news.

"We don't know."

Rex tilted his head again. "Really? Like…you don't know anything about 'em?"

Six shook his head. "We've been looking, but we haven't found anything. We don't even know your last name, to be honest."

Rex closed his eyes and nodded. "…okay. That's cool. So long as you're looking, I guess I can wait."

Holiday glared over at Six, though it was subtle enough for Rex not to notice. Sure, they'd spent a small amount of time looking into Rex's background, but it wasn't anything significant. Telling him they'd been looking felt like a lie to her.

"So let's go to my room!"

Holiday nodded and started walking out of the lab for Rex to follow. Six watched them go, considering whether or not he should go with. Holiday may not want to tell White about this, but he knew the boss needed to know as soon as possible.

With a sigh, he started following them. If they were lucky (which they never were), Rex would get back to normal without White noticing.

 **87\. Gunshot**  
 **:: Holiday, Six**

Of course she was worried sick – Six had almost been _shot_ , the wound just grazed his arm instead, and he suggested he just take a shower and wash it off?! No, absolutely not, no way in hell, she was his doctor and she would wrap that wound and make sure it wouldn't get infected.

So, reluctantly on his part, Six was in Holiday's lab, leaning against the patient table and waiting for her to finish up so he could leave. She was fussing and scolding him, but worried at the same time. It was cute. But also annoying. He was tired and wanted to leave.

"Alright, I just need to clean it and wrap it. Don't whine," she said sternly, plopping the tools she needed next to him. Quickly, Holiday cleaned up the blood (it stung, but Six wasn't about to admit that) and wrapped it up. As she was finishing up, she put her hands around his bicep to feel for any bumps in the wrapping.

Instead, she felt…well, his bicep seemed bigger than usual. Stronger. It was…interesting. "Are you…flexing?" she asked suddenly, realizing that there was no way Six's arms could really be that buff while he was just standing still.

Six raised an eyebrow at her. "No," he said, taking his arm out of her grasp. Alright. Maybe he was. Just a little bit. It wasn't on purpose. "Thank you, Doctor," he said with a nod as he shrugged his shirt back on and headed out the door.

Holiday followed him with her eyes. He was totally flexing. What was _that_ all about?

Xx

Even though it'd been months since Six lost his memories, he still had moments of recklessness where it was clear he was not quite as grown up as Holiday was used to him being. And waiting around for Rex to make it through the time stream meant that sometimes she would drift off and Six would get the chance to do something stupid without her yelling at him to stop.

When he came back to the Dam Base after what was supposed to be a food run with a bleeding arm, Holiday completely flipped out.

Of course, Six said it was fine. Just grazed him. Nothing he couldn't handle. Holiday was still pissed – _how the hell did this happen?! Where did you go? Who did you piss off? Please tell me you didn't kill anyone!_ – and Six just smirked at her. It was cute how worried she always got.

She went through a process that was more familiar to her than him – scolding him, mumbling to herself, getting the tools necessary and plopping them down next to him so she could clean and wrap the wound. Holiday noticed, after a moment, that Six was standing the exact same way he'd been the last time this happened.

She didn't say anything while cleaning and wrapping – not much to say, since he wasn't answering her earlier questions. At least he brought the Chinese food she'd asked for.

As she finished wrapping up his arm, just like before she checked for bumps or what-have-you, and just like before…he was doing it again.

"Are you flexing?"

Six smirked at her – she _hated_ that smirk and how much it turned her on. "Why? My bicep too buff to be real?"

Holiday laughed. "Yes, it is, and yes, you are!" She shoved him. "I think _you_ need to get real, Six, you've tried this one on me before."

Six's smirk died and he looked a bit out of place. "I have?" Whoops. "Er…"

Holiday just laughed harder. So Six wasn't exactly like his old self, but…some things were the same.


	16. 88-89

Here's more! 88 and it's later continuation is one of my favorites :3c

 **88\. Nowhere and Nothing  
:: Breach, Holiday, Six, Rex**

Fighting, slamming, loud noises, people screaming, bones crunching, Six's swords slicing through metal, Rex uses his Slam Cannon, guns shooting every which way – Holiday was much too familiar with all the sounds. All the screams and fear – it was normal for when they were fighting Breach.

Holiday was yelling orders into her comm and trying to ignore the sounds of a grunt being thrown into a portal and landing in the middle of heavy traffic. At least _she_ wasn't dead, so she didn't allow herself to get distracted. Six and Rex were still blips on her screen, so she knew it'd be fine. It...usually was, anyway.

Scientists were running around her – despite having known about Breach for a few months already, they still knew very little about Breach's abilities and how they worked. They just knew she was probably the most powerful EVO they'd ever encountered. And working for Van Kleiss made her even _more_ dangerous. But, as she said repeatedly in their last encounter, she doesn't do things _just_ for Van Kleiss. Sometimes she works for herself. And that meant there was no discernable goal in her mind and no way for them to understand what she wanted.

Rex was yelling back at Holiday about maybe needing backup when the comm was grabbed from out of his ear – she could tell from the sound of movement buzzing in her ear – followed by a monstrously creepy laugh.

"Little Miss Smartie Skirts!" Breach's voiced echoed. "Where would _you_ like to go?"

Holiday's eyes widened and she could hear Rex and Six screaming in the background when a red light suddenly appeared behind her. Scientists in the room started screaming as Holiday felt herself bathed in a red light.

Xx

Traveling through Breach's portal didn't have a specific feel to it. Honestly, it didn't feel like anything. She was surprised.

More surprising though, was her location. Everything was dark, damp, and quiet. It was…discomforting.

" _Doc?!"_

Holiday winced as Rex's voice boomed in her ear. "…I'm here, Rex. I'm fine."

" _Where are you? Breach left as soon as she zapped you away, so we're done here."_

"I'm not sure," she grabbed her cell phone and tried to use it as a flashlight. "It's too dark. Can't see a thing."

" _Dark?"_ Rex asked. _"But it's 3 pm._ "

She rolled her eyes. "It's not 3 pm _everywhere_ in the world. And besides that, I think I'm in some sort of cave."

" _Dr. Holiday,_ " Six's voice wasn't quite as loud as Rex's, but he sounded out of breath. _"We're tracking your cell phone's coordinates, someone should be there to pick you up as soon as possible."_

"Great. Where am I?"

Six didn't answer for a minute. Holiday could hear Rex repeatedly asking Six to answer her question. Six mumbled that they hadn't told him yet, and Holiday just leaned against the wall behind her.

It was wet. She immediately jumped forward, a shiver going down her spine. That was a _gross_ feeling. But…it didn't feel like water. Mud? …something else?

" _Six said he'll know in a few seconds!"_ Rex yelled into the comm. Holiday just rolled her eyes – at this speed it'd almost be easier for her to just start wandering and try to figure it out herself.

Just as she was thinking that, the ground below her started to shake _violently._ Holiday put her hands on the wall, ignoring the disgusting feeling and instead fearing for her life. She put a finger to the comm and tried to keep her voice from showing how scared she was. "Guys, I…I think there's an earthquake. If…if I'm in a cave, this won't turn out good."

" _An earthquake?!"_ Rex started yelling at Six and some Providence agents around him. _"Don't talk like that, Doc! We'll be there soon!"_

The ground continued to shake for another twenty seconds before calming down. And here she was, thinking about all the things she hadn't done, how Beverly was still trapped in the Hole and no one would visit her if she wasn't around. But she was still alive. Still alive.

"… _Doc?"_

Rex sounded scared. She was scared, too. "I'm fine, Rex. The shaking stopped. Do you know where I am, yet?"

As she asked that, the ground started to shake a bit again, but this time it was accompanied by a bright light appearing in the distance. "…whose there?" Holiday grabbed her pistol and held it in front of her.

" _He's yelling at some grunts, I'll go get him."_

The light started getting closer and Holiday kept her pistol facing outwards. It could be Breach coming back to torture her more, or it could be someone random. Or it could be a giant EVO that would kill her and eat her. All were very distinct possibilities. None of them were good.

As the light got closer, Holiday could make out a clearly human-shaped shadow among the group. The light was coming from an EVO in front of the human, and flowers were popping up at their feet.

Oh, no.

Six's voice crackled in her ear. _"Holiday. You're in-"_

"Abysus," she finished for him. "I know."

" _How did you-?"_

"Very theatrical timing, Dr. Holiday," Van Kleiss' voice echoed in the cavern. "I'm sure you're wanting to get out of this muddy cave Breach sent you to, so come along and follow me."

Holiday could hear Six ordering Rex and the rest of the grunts to start heading to Van Kleiss' castle. Rex sounded particularly pissed at this new information.

"Providence already knows I'm here, _Van Kleiss_ ," Holiday spat angrily. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I'll wait right here for them to show up."

Van Kleiss laughed, the EVO in front of him shaking a bit…was it laughing, too? That just made her angrier. "I suppose my wording wasn't clear enough. You _will_ be coming with me, whether you want to or not."

Holiday opened her mouth to rebut when the ground started shaking violently again. It was so sudden she fell to her knees – looking up to notice that the ground Van Kleiss and his pet were standing on wasn't moving at all. She glared. "Y-you're the one d-doing this?!" Her teeth chattered while she tried to talk.

Rather than respond, Van Kleiss just smirked and walked closer to her. Without saying a word, he reached down with his metal hand and grabbed Holiday by the throat, holding her up and choking her. "How's this? Better than being on that shaky ground?"

She glared and sputtered and grabbed at his giant hand, unable to respond with words.

He shrugged. "I gave you the option to follow me willingly, you said no. I didn't want to have to harm you unnecessarily."

All he got in response were continued sputtering and glares, but Van Kleiss could feel Holiday's grip on his mechanical fingers slipping. She was losing consciousness and it looked _painful._ He pulled her closer to him and pressed his finger to the comm in her ear.

"Just so we're clear, _Providence,_ " Van Kleiss said confidently. "This is a kidnapping. My ransom should be obvious, but considering the average IQ at Providence just dropped with the loss of your head scientist – bring me Rex. Don't comply within a week and your precious doctor be enslaved and then killed when I see fit. Keep that in mind while you're deciding on the value of her life."

Holiday's eyes were watering and her vision was started to go black. The last thing she saw before passing out was Van Kleiss' confident, disgusting smile.

 **89\. Twilight  
:: Beverly, Six**

"You want me to _what?_ "

"Take me the movies tonight!" Beverly clapped her hands together. "I _really_ wanna see this movie, and Rebecca has a conference thing and Rex said he didn't wanna see it. So will you go with me?"

"I'm not your babysitter," Six said, glaring down at her. "Can't you see it with one of your friends?"

Beverly pouted and looked down. "Well…I haven't gone back to school yet, so…I kind of…don't have any friends right now…"

Ouch. Foot in mouth, Six. He frowned. "Can't you just wait until your sister is available?"

"She doesn't get back until the movie isn't in theaters anymore!" Bev whined. "She just _had_ to go on a trip this week."

"So you asked your sister and Rex, and then me. No other options? Not a single one?" Six tapped the pen he was holding against his desk.

"Not really." She shrugged. "Mom is always working and I don't have a dad. Rebecca told me asking you would be a waste of time, but I thought I'd try anyway."

Six paused. Holiday said it'd be a waste of time? What, like he says no to _everything?_ That was just inaccurate. Sort of. "…I'll go with you."

"REALLY?!" Beverly almost squealed. "Ohhh, my God! Rebecca is gonna eat her words!"

He smirked. "What time?"

Beverly was still smiling super big. "Seven-thirty. So we should get there at, like, seven-fifteen, cuz the theater's gonna be packed."

"Alright." This was a terrible idea. He hated movie theaters. But he loved proving Dr. Holiday wrong every once in a while. "I'll pick you up at seven, then."

Beverly did a little spin. "I'm _so_ excited, you have _no_ idea! I've wanted to see this since I first saw the trailer!" And then she headed out the door.

Six looked up, realizing he had no idea what the movie was. Not that it would change his mind, but he was curious.

Xx

Nevermind. It absolutely would've changed his mind.

Being trapped in a tiny movie theater filled _to the brim_ with teenage girls was _not_ worth smirking at Holiday's embarrassment. Not even _close._ Not even a _little bit close!_ He definitely should've asked what movie it was, then looked it up on Google, and seen how terrible it was and then not gone to see it. Though, to be honest, if he'd asked what it was, he would not have looked it up. He would not have cared. And he needed to work on that so he'd never end up in this situation again.

Beverly was happy though, _extremely_ happy, and Six was bothered because he really didn't like the romance and he thought the main characters were unrealistic and annoying – _not that he actually watched it!_ – and Beverly was completely eating it up. But, hey, that wasn't his problem. Or, well. He hoped it wouldn't be. Holiday would probably get him involved if there was a problem, wouldn't she? Not that Six felt an obligation to her or her family or anything.

"Thank you _sooooo_ much, Agent Six!" Beverly squeezed his wrist with her hands. "And thank you for buying my ticket and the popcorn. I can have Rebecca pay you back if you wa-"

"It's fine," Six interrupted, almost rolling his eyes. Six dollars wouldn't break his bank, no need to tell Holiday.

"I can't wait to tell Rebecca that you took me," she said with an evil smile. "She's gonna be so surprised and embarrassed! Probably jealous, too. Have you ever taken _her_ to a movie?"

Six blanched. "Uh…" No. Why would he take Holiday to a movie? That would make it some sort of date. Unlike with Beverly, where it was more like a babysitting thing, since mentally she was still only thirteen despite her physical age of nineteen. But God, he just realized some people might've thought he was on a date with this teenage girl. He really hoped not. Couldn't they just think he was her dad? He'd much prefer that. So much. But wait, they were talking about Holiday. "…no, can't say I have."

Beverly gave him a toothy grin. "Ha, ha! She's gonna flip!"

Six started to unlock his car and considered how Holiday would react to him having gone to see the number one movie for teenage girls this year. Yeah, she would flip alright. Not in the way Beverly was hoping, though.


	17. 90-93

Originally this was just 90 and 91, but since I'm done with the rest I just added 92 and 93 for ya. 94 is extra long so it stays by itself! Enjoy the sequel to 88 :D

 **90\. Possession  
:: Van Kleiss, Holiday, Six, Circe :: a continuation of 88. Nowhere and Nothing. Warning for disturbing content (blood and like…Van Kleiss being a total creep but there's nothing explicit and nothin' actually happens)**

The first thing she noticed when she woke up was that it was _cold._ It was so, so cold and she couldn't move her arms or legs to wrap them around herself. In fact, she could barely move them at all. With all the training she'd received about what to do during dangerous situations like this, Holiday kept her eyes closed and her breathing even in case anyone was nearby. No need to let them know she was awake.

What was the last thing she remembered? Van Kleiss, choking her and telling Providence that he was kidnapping her. _Fantastic._ Unless she dreamed all that, she was probably in his lair. Or…palace. Whatever hellhole he lived in. She had the fortune of only being there once before, and she didn't really take in the sights.

On the plus side, Holiday couldn't really hear anything. Not in a deaf way – it seemed like no one was in the room with her. Or if they were, they weren't moving. So she took the chance and slowly opened her eyes to see what was in front of her.

Someone _was_ there. And Holiday recognized her easily. She was sitting in a chair, bent over with her head in her hands, not saying a word. Before deciding to say anything, Holiday looked around the room. It was just them. Was she standing guard to make sure she didn't escape? That was laughable, she couldn't even move.

"Circe," Holiday finally coughed out, not expecting her voice to sound so raspy. How long had she been out?

Circe's head flew up, her eyes wide as she stared right into Rebecca's. "Y-you…you're awake."

"I am," she said with a snarl. "Where am I?"

"Dungeon," Circe said quietly, walking closer to the doctor. "I know it's not ideal, but the alternative was much worse."

"That's an understatement," Holiday spit out. "I don't even want to know the alternative."

The teenager glanced to the side and bit her bottom lip. "That's probably for the best."

Holiday glared. "So what's your role? Watchman?"

"For now," Circe said. "I'm supposed to notify him when you wake up."

"And yet here you are."

Circe ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't…I'm not okay with this. I didn't even find out about the plan until he dragged you here. I'm sorry. This isn't…well, obviously this isn't _right_ , but I just…I never thought he'd do something like this."

"He's _killed_ people, Circe, without hesitation. Kidnapping isn't really that far down the line."

She bit her lip again and looked up at Holiday. "I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't want to believe it. He took me _in_ and…and I-"

Holiday coughed suddenly, her chest convulsing painfully. It lasted a good twenty seconds before she lifted up her head and closed her eyes.

Circe reached forward to touch her shoulder. "A-are you-?"

"I'm _fine_ , considering the circumstances," Holiday said, looking back down. "I don't…I don't have time to pity you, Circe. If you don't do something to help me, either I or Rex is going to _die._ "

She flinched at the way Holiday said 'die.' "Van Kleiss doesn't want to kill Rex."

Holiday glared down at her. "Rex would rather die than work for Van Kleiss."

Circe put her hands on either side of her face. She was right, of course she was right, but what could she _do_?! She couldn't help her escape, Biowulf and Skalamander were right outside in case she couldn't handle this. And as Van Kleiss predicted, she couldn't. She was breaking.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what to _do,_ " Circe said. "There's no way out of here that wouldn't alert Biowulf, who would alert Van Kleiss, and I just…"

"Calm down," Holiday said, her eyes closed. Circe was panicking, and she really couldn't deal with that. She needed to stay level-headed. "You…have Rex's cell phone number, don't you?"

"Y-yeah…but he already knows you're here," she pulled out her phone.

"Text him. Tell him not to come for me under _any_ circumstances."

Circe blinked up at her. "Are…are you sure? If he isn't here within a week, Van Kleiss is going to…find other uses for you."

Even with the euphemism, Holiday was well aware what she meant. Disgusting and absolutely horrific, but she wasn't going to dwell. "Tell him to send Six. _Just_ Six. He's faster and quieter. Let them know I'm alive and-" She rolled her shoulders. "-in decent condition."

Circe typed it up, sent it, then deleted it. "…done. Is…is Six going to be enough? I know he's strong, but…he's only human."

"It'll be easier when a certain EVO girl is providing a distraction on the other side of this castle," Holiday said quickly. "Keep in contact with Rex so you and Six can coordinate."

She nodded, her phone buzzing with a reply from Rex. "…he's pissed."

Holiday let out an angry sort of laugh.

"…but it seems like he's going to listen to you. Six is already on his way, apparently."

The doctor closed her eyes at that news. "He's so impatient."

Circe deleted Rex's message and let him know that she'd be providing a distraction when Six arrived. "I…if Van Kleiss finds out I helped you, he'll kill me."

"You could come with us."

"I can't. At least…not now," she said with a sidelong glance.

Everything became silent between them, Holiday knowing she wouldn't be able to protect Circe from everything Providence would want from her. They'd turn her into a tool like Rex – maybe treat her worse. White Knight would manipulate her and use her history with Van Kleiss to their advantage, which would traumatize her even worse than she'd already been.

Holiday felt her ability to pity the girl fade away with another coughing fit. She vines all around her felt like they were slowly tightening. She might die. She really didn't want to die. She _couldn't_ die – Rex's emotional state would go haywire. As much as she hated to admit it, Providence would go to Hell if she died at the hands of Van Kleiss. If Six didn't save her, or if Circe failed, then…

Her thoughts were cut off by footsteps. Circe's eyes widened and she glanced back at Holiday. " _Sleep!"_ she whispered, hoping Holiday would understand.

She did, of course, and evened out her breathing as much as she could while going back to her position from before waking up. She heard the footsteps get louder and Circe's heels clacked on the floor nearby.

"Circe." Holiday recognized the voice – she already knew it was him, but just being in his presence again sent shivers down her spine.

"She hasn't woken up yet, Van Kleiss," Circe said. "I-I tried to wake her up by talking to her, but it didn't work."

Van Kleiss looked down at the girl. "Ah, that _would_ explain the noises. Go fetch some water and food for when she finally _does_ – she might die of thirst at this rate."

Circe nodded and quickly left the room.

He waited for the door to shut before stepping closer to Holiday. She knew her breath hitched, just for a quarter of a second, but no doubt he noticed.

"Trying to convince her to help you, hm?" he said with a smirk.

Holiday opened her eyes and glared at him. "I'm surprised she's so loyal. Can't imagine you treat her well."

"Have some perspective, Dr. Holiday. I treat her better than her parents did, or anyone else who ever took care of her. I'd say that's good enough, wouldn't you?"

She kept her mouth shut and felt her chest tighten.

Van Kleiss smirked again and reached forward, grabbing her face between his mechanical fingers. "I'll still have to punish her for lying, though. It's unfortunate, marking up a pretty face like that."

Holiday felt her blood boil. "Don't-! Don't you touch her! She is a _child!_ " She attempted to thrust forward, the vines holding her in place.

He laughed. "Don't be crude. And you-" He tugged on her face, the vines allowing him to pull her closer. "-are in no position to speak to me like that. Do you understand the situation you're in, Doctor?"

She seethed. "Why not give me a run down in case I'm missing anything?"

Van Kleiss rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by her attempt at being rebellious. "Providence has five days to hand Rex over before you become a permanent resident of Abysus. That should summarize it enough for you."

"Am I getting a license and passport to go with it?"

He glared at her mocking tone and squeezed his fingers tighter, piercing her skin. "Hopefully I'll be able to find something to do with that _mouth_ of yours. Put it to good use, maybe?"

Holiday felt her face flush and skin crawl, and not just from the small amount of blood dripping from the marks in her cheeks. "Don't _touch_ me."

Van Kleiss laughed at her again. "Rex takes after you quite a bit, doesn't he?" He let go of her face and allowed the vines to put her back into place.

The doctor just glared at him, choosing not to acknowledge that with a response.

"I know you're not comfortable wrapped in my vines," he said matter-of-factly. "I _could_ offer you a more comfortable spot somewhere else if you'd agree to sit still and cooperate."

It was Holiday's turn to roll her eyes at the idea. "Don't kid yourself."

He stared at her for another minute before turning around and slowly walking out of the room. Holiday watched him go, not wanting to know what was on his mind. She stayed silent, hoping that Circe would come back soon. They didn't have much in common and she didn't know the girl very well, but anything was better than the cold silence this stupid _dungeon_ offered. After ten or fifteen (she couldn't tell anymore) minutes of waiting, Holiday just closed her eyes. If Six had just left a half hour ago, he'd arrive in Abysus in about six hours. She could hold out until then, easily.

X

Circe knew, by practice, that if Van Kleiss asked her to leave a room, she should be gone for at least twenty minutes. Interrupting him was a terrible idea, even if he thought the doctor was asleep.

…which was idiotic, he was a _genius_ , he probably knew as soon as Circe told him. He'd comment on her lies, punish her probably, and then go back to expecting her undying loyalty until the end of her days. And normally he would have it – she wasn't a fan of going back on her word, and she swore herself to him when she'd signed up with the Pack. But…she didn't sign up for kidnapping. Extortion. _Murder._ She didn't know what she was signing up for. She'd been stupid.

But it wasn't the right time for her to leave. She could help Dr. Holiday, but she couldn't help herself. Not yet. And honestly, she didn't _need_ help right then and there. But Holiday did. She needed a distraction.

Circe finally moved to grab the water and bread that Van Kleiss asked her to bring Holiday when her phone buzzed again. She reached down and looked over the message. Six's ETA was in five hours. _Exactly_ five hours, according to Rex. So she needed to start coming up with a plan for distraction that wouldn't lead to Van Kleiss chopping off her limbs.

Twenty minutes had passed, so Circe walked back to the dungeon to bring Dr. Holiday her food. At least Van Kleiss wasn't going to let the woman starve to death before the week was over. She opened the door and shut it quietly before walking over to the doctor.

"…Doctor Holiday?"

Holiday slowly opened her eyes and looked down at the girl. "He says you're too loyal to him to help me."

Circe looked down.

"I'm trusting you because Rex trusts you, Circe," she said quietly. "I don't _know_ you, but I'm begging you to help me."

She picked up the bread and shoved it in Holiday's face. "Stop talking and eat," Circe said with a weak attempt at being strict.

Holiday complied, knowing it'd been at least two days since she'd last eaten. She was starving and didn't know when she'd get food again. Might as well make the most of it.

"Six is going to be here in five hours," Circe whispered. "I'll do what you asked, but…Six won't be able to cut you out of these vines without alerting Van Kleiss. They're…connected to him. You need to find a way to get Van Kleiss to let you out."

Still chewing, Holiday felt herself lose her appetite as she considered how to possibly do that. She thought back to Van Kleiss' offer earlier and bit her bottom lip. If she timed it right, everything would be fine, but if she _didn't_ , then…well. Better not to think about it. Nodding, she continued to eat rather than respond verbally.

X

Six was trying not to be pissed. He _was_ pissed, of course he was pissed! He had every right to be pissed! But anger wouldn't do anything but potentially make him easier to spot. With Circe's help, hopefully he'd be able to sneak in and grab Holiday and get out. If he was lucky, Circe would text Rex with Holiday's location. Though if she's providing a distraction, she might not know for sure. Six wished he could track Holiday with her cell phone signal, but it was either destroyed or the battery died.

The jump jet wasn't moving fast enough. He needed to get to Holiday and finish this up quick. Maybe killing an EVO or two would lower his blood pressure back to normal. Of course, getting Holiday out was still priority, and hopefully he wouldn't have to encounter any EVOs while sneaking in and out. God, he hoped Rex was right about Circe and she didn't turn her back on them. If she did, Six didn't think he could fight off enough of Van Kleiss' goons to get out.

X

It'd been four and a half hours. Holiday had been counting the seconds and minutes in her head – to keep herself from falling asleep and make sure her timing was right. Circe last visited a half hour ago to let her know that Van Kleiss would be coming by again soon. Holiday knew that would be her last opportunity to get out of these vines and she was dreading every second of it. She now understand Rex's constant rudeness towards Van Kleiss – not that she'd complained about it before, but _God._ He was awful. He smelled awful. His voice carried with a condescending demeanor that made Holiday want to punch him just for opening his mouth.

But…she knew what was necessary. Six would be there soon, and then she could get out. End of story.

And lo and behold, the door opened, and Holiday looked over to see Van Kleiss making his way towards her.

"Hear from Rex yet?" she smirked at the man who was frowning up at her.

He commanded the vines to bring her down to his level. "Perhaps I overestimated your importance at Providence, Doctor. I expected to hear back from them by now."

"Can't say I'm disappointed," Holiday said with a frown. "So are you going to give up? Send me home?"

Van Kleiss rolled his eyes and grabbed her face – this time with his human hand – looking over the marks he'd made earlier. "You know, Doctor, my offer from earlier stands. This stay _could_ be much more comfortable for you if you cooperated. You're not strong enough to beat me – I doubt you'd even have the chance to throw a punch. Agree to do as I say and I'll allow you to move around. Simple as that."

Holiday closed her eyes and went back to counting seconds. If she was right – which she was pretty sure she was – then there was still twenty four minutes until Six would get here. If she went with Van Kleiss right now…there was too much time.

"And _what_ exactly," she started. "are you going to have me do?"

The scientist raised an eyebrow at her. "I do have some projects I could use another scientist's help on. You're not at my level of intelligence, of course, but the extra hands from someone who knows what they're doing would be useful."

Holiday scrunched her eyebrows, suspecting that wasn't everything he had in mind. "Projects like what? Building your own Nanite Reactor?"

"That is none of your concern, Doctor," he said with a smirk. "Are you going to come down or not?"

Holiday glared down at his feet. She didn't want to say yes, _god_ she wanted to spit in his face more than anything. " _Fine_ ," she said roughly. "Just don't-don't _touch me._ "

He snapped his fingers and the vines set her down. "I'd never touch a woman without her permission."

Holiday rolled her shoulders and flexed her arm, relishing the feeling of blood flowing to her hands again. "And you expect to _get_ my permission?" she spat out, knowing the insinuations from earlier were not just in her head.

Van Kleiss just smiled down at her. "You needn't worry about that, Doctor. First thing I want you to do is assist me with that project I mentioned."

The doctor couldn't believe her luck. She didn't know where she was going to be, and yes she'd be stuck in a room with Van Kleiss, alone and unarmed, but as far as she could tell, he didn't plan on doing anything at the moment. Maybe she'd get out of here without losing much blood. "Alright," she said quickly, taking a few steps to see how it felt. It felt weird, after so many hours of being strung up. And _damn,_ she really had to use the bathroom.

Van Kleiss pointed to the door and motioned for her to move, so Holiday did just that. She would do what he said for now – since he was right, she couldn't hold up against him in a fight – but she still needed to be ready.

X

Circe knew for this to work, and for her to not be under suspicion, she was going to have to get into one hell of a fight. And lose. It was going to hurt, a _lot_ , but it was better than dying, right? She hoped it was.

Rex texted her five minutes prior to say that Six had switched from jumpjet to hoverboard and he was gradually making his way to the castle before calling for radio silence. She'd responded that last time she'd checked, Holiday was in the dungeon on the side facing Denmark, and her distraction was going to be in the middle towards the sunrise. Hopefully Six got the message.

Her plan was pretty simple: agitate some mindless EVOs with some sonic sounds to the point where they started freaking out and fighting each other. If she did it right and pretended to try and stop them, they'd knock her out, and Van Kleiss and the Pack would come running to see what was going on. It should give Six at least ten minutes to get in, find Holiday, and get out. Circe wasn't sure if that'd be enough time, but it was all she could do.

With that in mind, she tried to change the frequency of her screams before blasting them at the giant creatures sitting across from her.

X

It _was_ a Nanite Reactor. Holiday couldn't believe she'd guessed correctly, but at the same time…it only made sense. If he expected her to not recognize the technology, he was sorely mistaken. But the conversation didn't even get a chance to come up, she'd barely started working when they heard loud explosions coming from somewhere else in the castle.

Van Kleiss glared in the direction of the noise. "Providence here to save you, no doubt."

"Oh, I doubt it," Holiday said, continuing to work. "White Knight isn't someone who risks hundreds of soldiers for one doctor."

He glowered down at her, knowing the statement was accurate, but then not knowing the source of the noise. "I'll be right back. And Skalamander will be guarding the door, so don't bother trying to leave." He stepped away from her and slammed the door on his way out.

Holiday slumped down to her knees. _Finally_ , a second to catch her breath without some megalomaniac breathing down her neck. And this was probably Circe's distraction, which meant Six was here. Or almost here. She could practically _taste_ the freedom of being back at headquarters.

And some sounds outside her door were making that taste even sweeter. Six probably saw Skalamander guarding a door and assumed that's the one she was in. _God_ , she hoped it was him. She couldn't do this anymore. The sounds stopped for a moment, so Holiday stood up and started walking towards the door. It was heavy as _hell_ , she didn't know how Circe navigated through this place if all the doors were like this, but on the other side she saw a familiar shade of green (covered in some dark patches of reddish brown, no need to ask.)

Without a second thought, Holiday thrust forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Six even hugged her back, which had never happened before, but all things considered it was nice that he wasn't going to be as socially awkward as usual.

"We need to go," he said quickly, squeezing her tighter rather than pushing her away.

"I-I know, I know," Holiday said. "Just give me a second, okay? It's been a long day."

Six nodded, she could feel the scruff of his unshaven chin against her neck – had he slept or taken care of himself at all since she was captured? Probably not, staying up and acting irrationally was one of Six's favorite ways to cope under stress. She'd have to talk to him about it someday.

"Okay. Let's go."

Six grabbed her hand and they ran back the way he came, as silently as possible, hoping not to run into any trouble. The noises in the distance had stopped – Circe's distraction was over, they both figured, and that meant they needed to move it.

After what felt like forever, they reached a wall with a big hole in it; Holiday assumed it was either a makeshift window or Six brought some heavy weapons with him. Without giving it a second thought, Six jumped up onto his hoverboard and quickly reached his hand down to grab the doctor and pull her on.

As his fingers tightly wrapped around hers, they heard a loud yell not too far away. Holiday and Six stared at each other as they realized who it was – and that he'd already figured out that his captive was gone. Six hoisted Holiday up with him and held her tight as he put his board into overdrive, headed back to the jumpjet.

There was rumbling behind them – loud noises: screams, crashes, definitely one or two of Circe's specific screams – but neither Six nor Holiday looked back with the jet not too far in the distance. It took them only two minutes to reach it. In complete silence, they made their way inside and quickly sped out of Abysus and back to headquarters in California. It would be a good five or six hour flight, but Holiday could probably use the time to recharge and settle down.

Six, after setting the autopilot, clicked on his comm. "Six here. I have her. Fine…I think." He paused. "No – _no._ You can tell him, I'll debrief him when we get back."

He stood up and walked towards Holiday, taking a seat next to her.

"Not in the mood to talk to Knight?" she asked.

Six frowned. "He…told us not to do anything. Knew Rex and I wouldn't listen, but _still._ "

Holiday chuckled a bit, as inappropriate as it was. Six raised an eyebrow at her, and Holiday just waved her hand in front of her face. "Nothing. I was just thinking of how pissed Van Kleiss would've been to know he was wrong."

The agent stared at her for a moment before looking away, then turning back. He wanted to ask her what happened, but he didn't want to force her to remember everything. "…how are you feeling?"

She nodded. "Better."

"But not good?"

"…no." She shook her head. "Still shaken up."

"Good thing I got to you in time, then."

"Yeah," Holiday said, casually leaning her body against his. "…good thing."

Six stiffened for a second, but soon wrapped his hand around her shoulder and rubbed her arm slowly. He wasn't great at comforting other people, but he'd been scared out of his goddamn mind. The comfort was just as much for him as it was for her. And, silently, they stayed like that for what felt like hours, until Holiday fell asleep against him. He just looked down at her – there were a few scabs on her face, no doubt from the psychotic mastermind himself. Next time they ran into each other, Six was going to chop his goddamn arm off.

Xxx

 **91\. Answers  
:: Six, Rex**

" _What?_ "

Rex flinched at Six's immediate reaction, almost wishing he hadn't said anything. "L-look, Six…it's, um, it's…"

" _Dead?!_ "

The kid looked up at his caretaker and bit his bottom lip. "I'm sorry, Six. He…told you he was proud of you. Of what you'd become."

Six stopped with his mouth hanging slightly open – clearly Rex's words had caught him off guard. He frowned and looked away from Rex, putting his hands in his pockets.

Rex hated the awkward silence, but he didn't know what to say. The only loss he'd dealt with was for people he didn't remember, where Six just learned that he lost one of the only people he _did_ remember. It wasn't exactly something Rex could relate to. It was just…sad. That was the only word for it.

The older man bit his lip and turned around, walking towards the window and leaning against it. He took off his sunglasses and stared at them in his hands.

"…Six?" Rex asked hesitantly.

Six shook his head and put the sunglasses back on. "I need to leave for a little while," he said. "I'll be back soon."

"I'm-I'm sorry, Six. I didn't know how else to tell you."

"No, Rex," Six said. "You did the right thing. I just need to go somewhere. I'll be back in a few days. Tell Holiday and White for me."

Rex nodded as Six pat his shoulder on the way out. He still wasn't sure if he did the right thing, and Six was probably just saving face for the time being. Rex figured he was headed to the island One died on, maybe just to mourn. There was no way Six would get over this quickly, but…Rex still hoped he'd come back soon.

 **92\. Innocence  
:: Holiday**

She just wanted to look back on old times. Just…something to remind her why she kept going every day – why she kept looking to the next day as something positive.

The first video she popped into her VCR was one of her and her sister when Beverly was just born – Rebecca was already twelve or thirteen and it was a shaky video of her father handing such a small baby to Rebecca so she could hold her for the first time. Rebecca looked confused and a little scared, but she held Beverly tight and the baby just smiled up at her and giggled.

Rebecca smiled. She didn't remember that at all, but…she was so glad it was on tape. She just wanted to watch video after video of Beverly. Back when Beverly was happy and young and cute and…able to think and eat and live. She felt her eyes watering and Rebecca considered the possibility that this wasn't the greatest idea. She just…wanted things to go back to the way they were.

 **93\. Simplicity  
:: Rex, Six, Holiday, Bobo, Noah**

"Doc!" Rex knocked on her door. "Doc Holiday!"

She opened the door, putting her hair into place. "What's up, Rex?"

"For dinner tonight…I was thinking you, me, n Six could dress up all fancy," he said confidently. "Like…y'know, like a fancy dinner night."

She smirked. "Fancy meatloaf night?"

"Not meatloaf tonight!" Rex put his hands on his hips. "I'm helping Bobo make something extra special!"

"Oh, really? And what's that?"

"It's a surprise!"

Holiday leaned against the doorway. "So what's so special about today?"

"Nothing, really. I just thought it'd be fun!" Rex smiled.

Smiling, Holiday just grabbed her labcoat and headed out the door. "Sounds fun, Rex. Sure, I'll dress up."

"Yes!" Rex shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "Now I just gotta convince Six!"

She laughed. "He'll just wear the same suit as usual. Not much convincing to do."

Rex shrugged. "Maybe he'll shine his shoes or something. Who knows with him!" Then Rex jumped off in the direction of Six's room, letting Holiday get back to work.

Xx

"Six! Yo, Six!" Rex knocked against his door. "You in there?" He waited a good twenty seconds before getting ready to knock again, then the door quickly opened.

"What do you need, Rex?"

"Dinner tonight! Bobo and I are making fancy food so you and Holiday have to dress up nice, okay?"

Six raised an eyebrow. "Did Holiday agree to this?"

"Yup!"

"Fine." Six rolled his eyes. "But don't expect me to show up in a tux."

"No, no. I expect you to stay green as ever! But Holiday'll look super nice, so that's always a plus." Rex gave his mentor a thumbs up before running off in the direction of the kitchen.

Xx

When their usual dinnertime rolled around – seven p.m. on the dot – Six had to admit he was a little curious as to what Holiday would be wearing. What was Holiday's version of fancy clothes? Nicer skirt? Low-cut top? A dress, even? She'd look gorgeous no matter what, but still.

He stepped into their makeshift dining room to see a table with two chairs and a candle in the middle. Two chairs. Hm. Six shrugged and took a seat. It's _possible_ that Rex was doing what he thought the kid was doing, but…best not to jump to conclusions.

Less than a minute later, Holiday stepped into the room. Six turned around to take a look at her, and felt his eyes pop out of his head. She looked _amazing._ Her hair was down and slightly curled and she was wearing a long blue dress with a nice slit up the side. Six stood up instinctively and walked over to pull out her chair.

Holiday smirked. "Thanks," she said gently, not having noticed the only-two-chairs thing yet. As Six took his seat across from her – still hadn't said anything, but Rebecca supposed it was better than hearing him say 'you look…nice' again – she finally noticed that there wasn't a seat for Rex. "Have you heard anything from R-"

Rex suddenly appeared at the side of their table, wearing a little waiter outfit and carrying a bottle of wine. "Welcome to Ché Rex! May I suggest the…uh…" He looked at the wine label. "The Sau-vig-non…Blank? Okay, no idea how to say that. But Bobo says it's really good."

Holiday covered her mouth with one hand, holding back a laugh. "Rex, what are you-?"

"I'll take that as a yes!" he said, pouring wine for both of them. "I'll be back in just a minute with your menus!"

Six picked up the wine glass and took a sip. "…not bad. The monkey knows what he's talking about, apparently."

"This is _too_ cute," Holiday said as she took a sip herself. "And so random. But I'm liking the treatment."

Six adjusted his tie a bit and wondered if Holiday knew what Rex was doing. It seemed kind of obvious to him, but maybe Rex had done stuff like this before. He waited a few more seconds before finally saying, "…you look gorgeous, by the way."

Holiday immediately blushed and looked off to the side. "…thank you," she said, a small smile gracing her lips and making Six's heart ache. She took another sip of wine.

Six opened his mouth to say something else when Rex suddenly returned, handing each of them a piece of laminated paper. The papers both said _Chicken Marsala on Pasta_ and had a list of types of pasta. Six smirked.

"Do you two need a minute to decide?"

Holiday handed the menu back. "I'll have it on spaghetti, if that works," she said, smiling.

Six copied her. "Just give me the same," he said with a nod.

Rex nodded at them. "If you need a refill on wine or anything at all, just shout my name! I'll be out as soon as possible!" He quickly zipped back into the kitchen.

Holiday was smiling brightly. "Chicken marsala, wow. I didn't know Bobo could make something like that."

"I still don't know why we let the _chimp_ cook our dinners," Six said. "Wouldn't it make more sense for you or me to do it?"

She laughed and blushed a bit. "Well…me and cooking is not a good combination. And you just never wanted to. But you never wanted to have our Friday dinners in the first place. Rex had to _beg_ to make them a regular thing."

"Really? You can't cook?" Six said with a smirk.

"Of course you'd focus on that part," she rolled her eyes. "No, I can't cook. At all. I can't really explain why, but…that's how it is."

He continued smirking at her. Of course she couldn't be _perfect,_ but it was just…such a cute thing to be terrible at. Or maybe he just found everything about her attractive or cute. It was starting to become a problem.

"But the way you said it sounds like you _can_ cook," Holiday noted. "I wasn't aware of this little talent of yours. What kind of food can you make?"

"What, I didn't cook for you before losing my memories?"

"…no," Holiday said with a pout. "You can cook for me sometime soon, though! I'd love to see if you're actually any good."

Six rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I am. I cooked for myself for years."

Holiday considered what that meant before taking another sip of wine. "So, what? Is everything you cook super spicy?"

"Of course."

"Maybe you could tone it down for me?" she said with a small laugh. "I'm not sure how much of _your_ spice I can handle."

"Maybe." Six couldn't help but smile while Holiday's laugh was sounding through his ears – she was so _cute_ and this was…this was surprisingly nice. Did they ever do this before? He suddenly got stuck on that question that had plagued him for months: had they dated before he lost his memories?

That awkward thought made him reach for another sip of wine – a bit longer of a sip that time, too. Holiday raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, and he was happy for that.

After that, they sat in a…slightly awkward silence for a few seconds before Rex popped out of the kitchen again. "I'm back! Hope I'm not interrupting anything…" He looked back and forth at them expectantly.

Six raised an eyebrow and Holiday shrugged. "No, you're fine. What's up?"

"Your entertainment has arrived! She was a little delayed 'cause of Noah's car being stupid, but whatever, now she's here! You can now enjoy the song stylings of… _Bev!"_

Holiday's eyebrows jumped up and she turned to see her baby sister on the other side of the room, completely dolled up with Noah behind her playing the piano. She didn't know Noah could play the piano.

"So…Beverly's a singer?" Six asked Holiday as Rex went back to the kitchen.

Holiday smirked and watched her sister while leaning against her hand. "Apparently! I wasn't aware she was doing it outside of the shower these days. Not bad, either."

Six let out a chuckle. "So is that a secret talent of yours, too, or is singing another thing you can't manage?"

She blushed and pouted a bit. "I-I can sing! A bit. …alright, Beverly's much better than I am, that's for sure. But I doubt you've got the voice of an angel, either!"

"You'd be right about that," he said. "But _I_ doubt you'll get the chance to hear it."

"No? Not going to serenade me anytime soon?" Holiday asked with a smirk. "That's too bad."

Six opened his mouth to response, but paused as he started to think about that. Serenading Holiday? He didn't really know music aside from what Rex referred to as "oldies." Holiday probably liked that stuff, too.

She started to chuckle and covered her mouth. "Are you considering it?"

He smiled a bit. "Maybe. You won't see it coming, though."

"Even if you gave me a handwritten letter _announcing_ it, I wouldn't see that coming," she laughed.

He just chuckled quietly along with her as they moved on to casual chitchat – which Six wasn't a big fan of in general, but with Holiday it was alright. They talked about Rex, and more about Beverly – some of Holiday's other family members, and Holiday asked about Six's so-called family members as well. He was shocked that she knew about them, and it just made him go back to thinking about how close they might've been before losing his memories. He didn't share information like that with just anyone. Rex knew, White knew, but…Holiday?

"No, I just met the pink-haired woman," she said when Six questioned how she knew about them. "But now I know there's more than just her! I'm guessing it's One through Five, hm?"

"Dos through Five, actually," he said nonchalantly, as if the reminder of One's death didn't still haunt him since Rex told him about it.

Holiday made a surprised sound, but didn't question that. Maybe they just didn't have a number one in their group. She really didn't know much about them so it wasn't her place to question. Though…just the fact that he answered her said that either Six was being a little more open because of the wine, or he was starting to feel very comfortable with her again. She smiled at the thought.

"What's on your mind?" Six asked, noticing her sudden smile.

She blushed lightly at his question and as she opened her mouth, she came to a very obvious realization: this was a date. _Rex_ had set them up on a date. Six had to know, he was always more perceptive about these sorts of things, and he hadn't run away, so…

"I was thinking that…" Holiday felt her face get hot as she considered the best way to word this. "…we should go out for dessert after this."

Six raised an eyebrow and held back a smile. "You don't think Rex has anything in store for us?"

She smirked. "I think Rex would be happy to eat it if we decided to leave."

"Good point," he said. He considered asking her if she just wanted to leave then and there and just go out somewhere for a real date, but Rex had put in all this effort, so they could at least enjoy part of it. "So that'll be date night part two."

Out in the open, Six finally said the word, and Holiday just smiled back at him. No one was denying it, hand-waving it, working around it, or trying to change the subject. They were acknowledging it and going to do something about it.

As Holiday opened her mouth to say something else, Rex came out of the kitchen with their plates – and he was smiling so wide he was practically _beaming._ Six could've laughed, if he hadn't laughed significantly more than usual already – he needed to teach Rex how to have a poker face. Eavesdropping and being subtle about it apparently didn't go together in the kid's head.

"I don't wanna interrupt anything _important,_ " Rex said as he glanced between the two of them. "But your food is ready! And may I just say: it smells delicious!" He bolted out of the room, but not before giving a big thumbs up to Noah and Beverly, the latter of whom had to contain a squeal of joy.

Six let out a quick chuckle. "Subtle."

Holiday rolled her eyes playfully and took a bite out of her food. After a second, her eyes widened. "Mm, _Six._ This is actually _really_ good. Bobo's food usually isn't anything to write home about, but _wow._ "

Shocked, Six quickly took a bite of his own plate. Well, she wasn't lying, it was definitely very good. But…she was also definitely exaggerating a bit. She _had_ to be – or maybe it just wasn't spicy enough for him. But nonetheless, it was good.

They ate in relative silence – occasional chatter in and out of their bites, but they were both pretty hungry, so neither minded the lack of conversation. Rex, however, while peeking out at them from the kitchen door, was a little upset.

"They were doing so _good_ earlier, and now they're not even talking! What's up with that?"

Bobo scratched his arm. "Maybe they're just enjoying the food, Kid."

Rex put a hand on his chin. "Hmm...then maybe I should chill. I mean, they already made plans to go out after this! Then next thing you know they're finally officially dating, then married, then I have a little baby brother!"

Bobo scratched his other arm. "I wish my imagination was that wild."

"It's not wild! I can totally see this happening," Rex frowned at the chimp. "I mean, okay, technically the kid wouldn't be my _brother,_ but he'd totally see me as a brother!"

"How 'bout a sister?"

"I'm cool with that, too! Just gotta be prepared for anything, y'know? Maybe she'll be a kick-butt ninja just like her dad! Or he could be a genius scientist like mom!" Rex grabbed Bobo's face. "What if they're a mixture of _both?!_ Some kind of superkid?! They could take over the world!"

Bobo swatted Rex's hands away. "Alright, Kid, enough baby talk. Maybe you should-"

He stopped talking as Noah quietly snuck into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. "Hey guys. It's going great out there! I've never seen them so…intimate!"

Rex stuck out his tongue. "That word sounds so gross, dude."

"You were just talking about them having a _baby_ , but you don't want them to be intimate? Maybe someone should give you the talk." Bobo jumped down from the stool he'd been standing on and hobbled towards the kitchen door.

"Aaaanyway, Bev took a bathroom break so I thought I'd see what's up in here. How's the food? It smells good."

"It's actually _really_ good. Bobo really outdid himself! I wish _I_ knew how to-"

"Hey, hey! You three kids might have more food to share than you planned," Bobo said from the door. He swung it wide open so Rex and Noah could see the empty table (with cleaned plates!) right across from them. "The lovebirds have left the building."

Rex laughed. "I can't believe they just ditched! No complaints, I guess, but man…I put together this whole nice atmosphere for them 'n everything."

"Uh, you mean _we_ put together the atmosphere," Beverly said as she walked back over to them. "So I'm done singing, right? 'Cause I'm _starving!_ "

Rex and Noah looked at each other, then down at Bobo, then back up at Beverly, and then over at the food. Yup – time to eat.

X

"I can't believe we snuck out."

"Easier than having to talk our way out of there," Six said, handing her the ice cream she ordered.

She smiled and immediately started sucking and licking at the top of the soft serve – Six ignored it while ordering a vanilla cone for himself. Holiday smirked at him. "So for dinner food you need it to be as spicy as possible, but for dessert you get _vanilla?_ "

He raised an eyebrow. "Do they somehow contradict each other, _Doctor?_ "

"No, no," she said, going back to her cone. "Just an observation is all."

As he grabbed his cone and paid for their treats, Holiday led Six outside – it was the perfect temperature, not a lot of bugs, and there was not a single other person outside. She moved to a nearby bench and sat on the table with the feet on the seat. Six smirked at the childish movement but mimicked her anyway.

They sat together in companionable silence for a few minutes before Six decided to get some awkward feelings off his chest.

"Kind of sad that it took _Rex_ for us to finally go out, huh?"

Holiday laughed, taking Six by surprise. "Not really. Well, I don't think it is. It took Beverly last time."

"So we _did_ used to date!" Six said with _way_ more enthusiasm than he intended. He actually blushed and cleared his throat awkwardly when he realized how loud the outburst was while Holiday snickered at him.

"Just a few times, don't get _too_ excited," she replied. "I mean, at least this time you didn't almost _die._ I don't think I could deal with that again." A pause, then she added: "…again," after remembering his recent coma when Rex's friend from another dimension came to visit.

"Almost died, hm?" Six looked down at his cone. It felt less appetizing. "Without Rex, maybe I _would've_ waited that long. Guess I'm the same kind of idiot I was back then."

"Probably because you _are_ the same idiot you were back then," Holiday smiled at him. "I know I've told you this before, but…besides a few missing pieces here and there, you act exactly like you did before losing your memories. It's kind of amazing, actually."

"Amazing?" The missing pieces part of her sentence was going to bug him for days, though, Six commented in his head.

"That…even though you lost such a huge chunk of yourself, being surrounded by the same people and the same circumstances made you into the same man. Psychologically speaking, it's just fascinating." Holiday started munching on her cone.

Six stared at her. "How about…non-psychologically speaking? What about Holiday speaking?"

She blinked and smiled down at her cone. "Holiday speaking, it's nice to know that you're still interested after everything we've been through."

He pondered on that for a moment before opening his big mouth. "...referring to what Scarecrow did?"

Holiday groaned. " _Don't!_ Remind me of that! I still can't believe he kis-" She blushed mid-word, realization of what she was about to reveal hitting her. She'd never actually told Six what Scarecrow did, despite how many months ago it was. He probably knew, but she'd still never said it out loud. She suddenly chomped on her cone.

Six stared at her. Yes, he knew Scarecrow kissed her while pretending to be him. And then his brain started wondering – that was the last time she'd been kissed, wasn't it? Who knows when it was before that, but between then and now, there hadn't been anyone as far as he knew.

She was transfixed on finishing her cone, and it was delicious and it was gone, and she hoped Six didn't ask her to continue that statement. Remembering Scarecrow just reminded her of the _taste_ of that disgusting! Terrible! Awful! _Disgusting-!_

Her thoughts were cut off by Six's lips very suddenly and very gently pressing against hers. Holiday stayed still for a moment, in shock and total disbelief, before melting into it and kissing him back.

Six wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her towards him while enjoying the taste of mocha ice cream in her mouth. This was even better than he'd imagined it – and oh _God_ , the amount of times he'd imagined it – and Holiday's arms wrapped around his shoulders just improved the experience.

They stayed like that for a good half a minute before breaking for air, and though Six desperately wanted to continue (and continue some more, and then back to the car, and _maybe_ back to her room if she was interested), he chose to smirk at her instead. "Just thought your most recent kiss should be a better one."

Holiday chuckled and licked her lips. "One of your best ideas yet, Agent Six. We'll have to make sure to repeat it often."


	18. 94

Here's what I'm pretty sure is my longest fic in Cien. It's a little over 7000 words, but I swear it's really funny. Enjoy!

 **94\. Reality**  
 **:: Breach, Six, Holiday, Rex, White. This is a long one! Based off of a Fullmetal Alchemist comic I read probably almost ten years ago.**

" _Six!_ " Rex screamed, forming his right arm into a smack hand and bringing it down towards Breach. She dodged the attack, and as Rex looked over, he saw Six be completely encompassed by one of her portals.

Rex turned towards Breach angrily. "Where'd you send him, Breach!?" he asked, bringing another smack hand down.

She laughed in response, pointing behind Rex, where he could see Six come out of a similar portal behind him. The agent seemed terribly confused until he looked up, saw Rex and Breach, and immediately bolted forwards, swords out, ready to attack.

Rex rolled his eyes - he knew Breach loved messing with him, but he _really_ couldn't stand when she did stuff like that. Gave him a heart attack! He followed Six, BFS ready.

Breach continued laughing, thoroughly amused by Six and Rex's attacks, and after another few moments she disappeared through a new portal.

The boys waited for her to return, with Van Kleiss and The Pack, or perhaps just by herself again, but after waiting a minute without anything happening, they packed up their swords and looked at each other.

"Gah! She's so annoying!" Rex complained, covering his face with his hands. He was brought out of his angered stupor by Six's hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Rex? She didn't hurt you, did she?" the agent asked, concern evident on his face.

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Um...no? I'm, uh...I'm fine."

Six smiled and patted Rex's shoulder. "Good! Let's get back to base, then."

As the agent started walking away, Rex started at him, completely bewildered. Six just asked if he was okay, then _smiled!_ Openly smiled! Showed concern! For _him!_ Maybe Breach actually _did_ something to him when she sent him through that portal. Rex noted that he should keep an eye on Six for any other strange behavior.

In the jet, Rex continued staring at his mentor. Six was still smiling, and now he was _humming_...this was too weird.

"Six?"

"Hm?"

"...are you feeling okay?"

Six raised an eyebrow. "I feel great, Rex - especially considering I just went through one of Breach's portals. I really can't stand those things. But-" he chuckled suddenly. "I guess you have more experience with 'em than I do!"

Now he was being really talkative, too. And did Six just _laugh?_ Rex stood up and walked over to the agent. "Yeah, okay...about going through that portal. Did you stop anywhere? See anything? Hit your head?"

Six tilted his head. "Hm, well...I saw my reflection. That was new. But mostly creepy. Otherwise, nope, same as usual."

"Your reflection?" Rex paused, taking a few seconds to think. What could that mean? Was he near water while in the portal? Was that even possible? Man, they had no real understanding of Breach's portals. _She_ probably didn't even understand her own portals. "Yeah...that is weird."

But it wasn't the _only_ thing. Rex sat back down, deciding to sit the rest of this one out in silence.

x

As they landed the jet back at Providence, Rex was about to run to the Doc to tell her what was up, when Six spoke up.

"So what do you want for dinner tonight?"

His eyebrows flew through the roof. "Um...it's not Friday, Six."

The agent cocked his head and stopped next to Rex. "So?"

After a second of staring at him, Rex glared. "Are you trying to mess with me or are you really sick or something?"

Six blinked a few times, eyebrows raised. "What?"

Rex flailed. "That's it! I'm getting Dr. Holiday! This is too weird!" he yelled, activating his Boogie Pack and flying towards her lab.

Six ran after Rex, utterly confused. "Rex?! Rex!"

x

" _Doc!_ " Rex yelled, running through the door to her lab and almost bumping into her. "Doc!"

"Rex?!" she responded, immediately worried. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"It's _Six_ -" he started, breathing heavily.

Her eyes got wider as she reached forward and grabbed Rex's shoulders. "What about Six? Is he hurt?"

"He-" Rex continued, pausing another second to catch his breath. "He's being really _weird!_ Like nice and friendly and chatty! It's creepin' me out!"

The doctor stared at Rex for a second before letting go of his arms and smacking him on the head. "Don't worry me like that! I'm sure you're just overreacting. Six can be nice if he wants to."

As Rex was about to respond, the subject at hand walked into the room, hands in his pockets. "Rex, are you alright? You ran out of there before answering me."

Dr. Holiday raised an eyebrow - Rex was right, Six _did_ seem a bit different, but not so much to cause a ruckus. She turned Rex around and shoved him lightly. "You should apologize to Six, Rex. You're being ridiculous."

Rex frowned, stepping away from the doctor. "No way! You need to find out what's wrong with him!"

Dr. Holiday looked over at the agent with a raised eyebrow, and he just shrugged in response.

"Six seems fine to me. Maybe you should go take a nap or something."

Rex turned back to the doctor, hands motion behind him. "But he's-!"

"Rex, I don't know what you're talking about. I feel fine," Six interrupted, taking the few steps forward to stand beside Dr. Holiday, his arm wrapping around her waist. "You should listen to Rebecca and sleep whatever-this-is off."

Rex's eyes were bulging as Holiday blushed, looking down at Six's hand and back up at his face - which was _totally casual like this was a normal thing._ She waited a second before reaching down, peeling Six's hand off of her and continuing to hold it by the tip of his finger as she stepped away and let go, not understanding his confused expression.

"Okay, Rex, I see what you mean," Holiday said quietly, still staring at Six. Rex smiled.

" _Rebecca_ , not you too!" Six exclaimed, a hand to his head.

"Wow, Doc, that's twice in a minute. I've never even heard him call you 'Rebecca' before." Rex smirked, the doctor beside him still blushing a bit.

Holiday took a breath and stepped forward, putting a hand on Six's forehead. "You don't feel warm. Did something happen?"

Six reached up and grabbed Holiday's wrist, taking the other one in his other hand as well. "Rebecca, I'm _fine._ I don't know why you and Rex are-"

He paused suddenly, and looked down to her hands where his fingers had been absentmindedly rubbing. She pretended not to notice initially, but now this was just getting _really ridiculous._

"You're...not wearing your ring?" he asked quietly, looking back up at her.

She blushed again. "Ex _cuse_ me?!"

"Your...wedding ring. Rebecca, did I do something wrong?"

She blinked twice, ignoring Rex's loud " _Whaaatt?!_ " in the background. "Weddi-?! Six! We are not married! We have never been married!"

The agent frowned. "What? Rebecca, I have _my_ ring right here." He lifted his hand and motioned to the ring on his finger. "Why are you-"

Holiday interrupted him, covering his mouth with her hand and cradling a headache with the other. "Okay, just...stop talking. I need to think."

He nodded, still concerned, as Rebecca removed her hand and took a step back. She looked Six up and down. "Rex."

"Yeah?"

"You fought Breach, right?"

Rex nodded. "Six was sent through a portal, and when he came out, he was like this. Oh! The portal time took, like, longer than usual, though!"

She turned to him. "Where was it?"

"The fight? Uh...it was a couple hundred miles south of here-"

"We're going back. You too, Six."

Rex shrugged and followed, while Six shoved his hands in his pockets, noticeably upset over the entire situation.

x

Arriving on the scene Rex specified, Dr. Holiday took out a small machine that Rex didn't recognize and started scanning the air.

"What are you looking for?" he asked curiously.

" _Anything_ to explain what happened to Six," she answered. "He's obviously not injured, and you both claimed that he didn't get hit in the head. So obviously it must be something to do with Breach's portal."

"Like what? I thought Breach's portals could only take people places."

Six stood in the background, unsure of what to do. He didn't understand why Rebecca and Rex were acting so strange suddenly. Perhaps, after this little "investigation", he should talk to White about all this.

"Well...it's a weak idea, based on a very shaky theory...but I'm wondering if, perhaps, Breach was able to open a portal to another dimension or parallel world. Or something like that."

"Huh?"

Holiday started walking around, still trying to get a reading on her device. "I'm theorizing the possibility that...perhaps...this isn't _our_ Six, but...another Six. From a dimension where...he and I are married."

Rex let out an unintentional laugh. "Is you guys being married _that_ weird to you?"

She bit her cheek and turned to him. "Rex, he has a _ring_. It didn't just appear along with his delusions - he _had_ it already."

The EVO held up his hands. "Alright, alright, I get it! It's extra super weird."

She looked up at Six, who was absentmindedly staring off into the distance. Suddenly, the device started to beep, and Holiday looked at it in concern.

"What's up?"

"According to these readings, I...I may just be right."

"So then...that's not _our_ Six? How do we get him back?!"

"...we need to find Breach."

xx

As he flew through the portal, Six immediately took in his surroundings. Same area. Of course. Well, that made things easier.

"Six!" Rex yelled happily, looking over at him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," the agent replied gruffly. "Don't worry about me, pay attention to Bre-"

As they looked up, Breach had already slithered through a portal, leaving them behind. Six immediately got anxious, waiting for the next attack, but after a few minutes, nothing happened, and he sighed.

"Rex, you need to focus on the battle at hand. You could clearly see I was fine," Six scolded, sheathing his swords.

The teenage EVO pouted a bit and his weapon fell to the ground. "I-I'm sorry, Six..."

Six raised an eyebrow, slightly disturbed by Rex's reaction. He'd thought they'd gotten past this months ago. "...it's fine. Just don't do it again."

"O-okay." Rex followed Six towards the jet, falling into step beside him. "You're not mad, are you?"

Six crossed his arms at the question. Was he being serious? "No, I'm not mad."

Rex responded with a smile and quickly ran to the jet. "Awesome!"

Shaking his head at the obsurdity he'd just dealt with, the agent continued onto the jet.

x

Walking off the jet, Six knew he needed some aspirin right away. The entire trip back, Rex was just _talking and talking_ \- as if Six cared what happened on his last adventure with Noah? - and Six couldn't bring himself to tell the kid to shut the hell up. Not after he got so upset earlier.

As Rex continued talking, Six considered getting something stronger than aspirin. He'd go ask Dr. Holiday if she carried anything.

"-and then Noah was like-hey! Where ya goin', Six?" Rex said, interrupting his story as Six headed up the stairs.

"Just going to talk to Dr. Holiday," he responded, not turning around.

Rex pouted. "You always wanna spend time with the Doc!"

He paused, wondering where Rex got _that_ idea from, but decided to ignore it and continued on his way.

Rex crossed his arms. Six was being so distant today! At least, ever since he went through Breach's portal…

x

Six saw her back turned and, not wanting to scare her, knocked on the inside of her lab's door a few times. "Dr. Holiday?"

She turned around, smiling brightly as soon as she saw the agent. "Hey, Six! How was the mission?"

He took a few steps forward and stopped in front of her. "Nothing exciting happened. Fought Breach. Rex wouldn't stop talking. Speaking of, do you have any aspirin?"

She smirked. "Isn't Rex usually talkative?" She turned around, reaching into a nearby drawer. "Here, I think I've got some...here we go!" She pulled out a small bottle. "How much?"

"You might as well just give me the whole bottle." He sighed, holding out his hand.

Holiday smiled, placing the bottle in his hand, then leaning forward and pecking him on the lips. "Don't take too many! You know what happened last time."

As she started to walk away, Six still stood there, completely silent and unmoving, eyes wider than ever before and not even registering the fact that the pill bottle was in his hand.

Before she was too far away, he finally composed himself, placing the pill bottle back on the desk. " _Holiday_ , what was that?!"

She turned around, arms crossed. "What was what? And what's with this 'Holiday' stuff? You haven't called me that in months."

Six blinked at her, though she couldn't see it, and started rubbing his temple with one hand. He didn't want to ask this, but she was being... "Why did you just... _kiss_ me?"

With a raised eyebrow, Holiday walked back over to Six, putting her hands around his neck and noticing how stiff he immediately got. She frowned. "Am I suddenly not allowed to kiss my husband?"

Internally, Six's reaction to this last statement was very, _very_ confused and concerned. Husband? HUSBAND? _HUSBAND?_ That was absurd. So very absurd. However, Dr. Holiday was intelligent and not one to play pranks or make things up or try to get on his nerves, so he had to wonder what was going on. Even if she'd been paid a lot, she wouldn't do something like this. Probably not even under the power of a horrible threat or blackmail.

So, instead of all these questions and confusions, what came out of Six's gaping mouth was a simple:

" _What?!_ "

She removed her arms, resting them at her hips instead, and tilted to the side. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Six proceeded to take off his sunglasses, check them, clean them, and put them on again. "Holiday, I don't know what's wrong with you, but we are _not_ married."

She crossed her arms, frowning deeper. "Six, what's wrong?"

"What's _wrong_ is that you think we're married!" he near-shouted, calming himself immediately after. With a breath, he continued, "We're not married."

Out of concern for his outburst, Holiday stepped forward, putting a hand on his arm. "Six...did something happen? Did you hit your head or something?" She put a hand to his cheek. "You're starting to scare me."

Six could feel his ears turning red at Holiday's touch and outward concern. This was _strange_. He always had a very good memory. He would definitely remember being married to Dr. Holiday. Though, looking into her eyes - she seemed extremely genuine. So that just begged the question - _what was going on?_

He reached up and took her hand off of his face. "You know what, I think I'm just gonna take a shower and go to bed."

She pouted. "That's probably a good idea."

As he started to walk away without a word, Holiday, on impulse, said, "...love you."

Six felt his back stiffen and ears turn pink, but he didn't turn around, instead sending an awkward wave her way and continuing out the door.

x

Upon entering his room, he immediately noticed a difference in the air. Someone else had been here.

He didn't want to think through the possibilities, instead opting to look at the picture frames that had magically appeared on his desk. Now _this_ was getting too weird.

He picked the first one up. It was him and Holiday. At their...wedding. He immediately put it back down and reached for the second one. Him and Rex. In swimming trunks. At the beach. He put that one down, too.

That never happened. Neither of these ever happened. Why were there pictures of these things if they'd never happened?

He briefly thought back to his trip through Breach's portal. He'd gone through her portals before. Plenty of times. Though, thinking deeply, he seemed to recall being "in between" places for a moment - and even seeing a reflection of himself.

That wasn't how it usually went. Perhaps - and though he was no expert - that moment was the explanation to everything. He'd have to talk to Holiday and Rex about it. Surely they noticed he was acting "weird".

Though he really _could_ use that shower. Hopefully waiting an extra day before fixing this wouldn't alter anything.

x

Coming out of his shower, Six immediately grabbed a towel and started drying off his hair. After about a second, there was a knock on his bathroom door.

"Six?"

Though she didn't open the door, Six immediately brought the towel down and wrapped it around his waist. " _Holiday?!_ What are you-"

"Still on that, huh?" she interrupted, sounding sadder than usual. She started to open the door. "The shower didn't bring you back to your senses?"

Six immediately reached for the door, stopping himself in lieu of not wanting to upset Holiday further. Rather, he tightened the towel around himself and put on his sunglasses instead.

Clearing his throat as she entered the bathroom, he responded, "...I suppose not. I actually think I know what's wrong, though I'm considering sleeping it off first in case I'm really just overtired."

She walked towards him, putting a hand on his arm. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

He backed away from her in response - _extremely_ uncomfortable with Holiday touching him while he was naked. Alright, there was a towel...but _still._

She retracted her hand at his reaction, and bit her lip sullenly. "That's a no, then?"

Adjusting the towel again, Six regained his composure and rubbed some excess water out of his hair. "Perhaps...after I'm dressed. If you could just...leave...for a few minutes?"

She pouted. "Six, this is _my_ room, too."

Though Holiday couldn't see it, Six's eyes bugged out at that statement, and he really wanted to smack himself. _They were married (for some reason)_ , he thought, _so of course they shared a bedroom._ He cleared his throat. "Right. I, uh..."

Rebecca was obviously more than just a little concerned at this point - something was _very very_ wrong with her husband and she definitely needed to check him out. Still, she complied with his wishes and nodded sadly, leaving the bathroom and grabbing a pair of boxers from Six's drawer. She opened the bathroom door just a bit and held out the shorts. "Do you need these?"

Six could feel his face heat up and quickly grabbed them from her. This whole situation was going to give him a heart attack. Though he was starting to wonder if, perhaps, Breach could have sent him to some fake world. Or reimagined world. Maybe there was some science behind that and Holiday could help him out.

Now dried and somewhat dressed, he exited the bathroom, finding Holiday snuggled into one side of the bed. He suddenly felt eerily guilty, and sat on the other side, hoping she'd say something to him first. When she didn't respond, he sighed and turned around, putting a hand on her blanket-covered shoulder.

"Holi-...er, _Rebecca_..." The name felt foreign on his tongue, but even if this wasn't the real Holiday, he hated seeing that disappointed look on her face. No matter how uncomfortable everything was.

She turned around, staring up at him with a frown on her face. She could tell he was _trying_ to be like he usually was, but something was holding him back. Hopefully he had some idea, or she might just have to send him to a psychologist.

"Are parallel worlds possible?" he asked bluntly.

She raised an eyebrow, and then scrunched them down, wondering where this thought came from. Sitting up, Six immediately noticed she was wearing a _very_ tiny pink slip - and he moved his sight away from that as soon as he could.

"Well, it's a _theory_ , but it's not a very sound one. Why?"

He sighed. "When I went through Breach's portal earlier today...it was weird. Um, different than usual," he started, laying back again his pillow. "There was a moment of time where I was actually _inside_ the portal, rather than partly in and out. I think...if it's possible...I and another Six - the one that you know - were switched into each other's worlds."

Her skeptical eyebrow was still raised, and she frowned. "Well, that's...quite a theory. I suppose it's _possible_ , considering Breach's powers are so...variable."

"Do you suppose there's a way to switch us back?" he asked quietly, not wanting to somehow offend this more-sensitive version of Holiday.

She paused, thinking it over. "If what you say is actually _true_ , which...would explain a lot...then I imagine we'd need to find Breach. And in this world _you_ come from, they'd also need to find Breach. And have her open a portal...at the same time."

Six frowned deeply. Finding Breach was difficult. Capturing Breach, or getting her to listen to reason, was ridiculous. Getting both Breaches in each world to open a portal at the same time without any communication? Impossible. "...I see."

"...yeah. I mean, this is all in theory, of course. Parallel worlds are very unlikely."

Six shook his head. "I've seen a lot of strange things in my time. This, however, is the only explanation I could think of."

She frowned again. Were things so different here? Obviously they weren't married in "his world" - or even a _couple_ , apparently - but other than that, all he'd complained about was Rex's talkativeness. This was either what he was saying...or the most elaborate divorce strategy she'd ever heard of. Though she knew the latter thought was irrational paranoia - she and Six were _very_ happy together and he'd tell her if something was wrong.

So maybe he was right. Maybe this wasn't _her_ Six, but another Six. Maybe they'd have to find Breach and fix everything as soon as possible. She nodded. "Do you...wanna go look for Breach?"

He sighed. "I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow." Though he was still immensely uncomfortable with even the _idea_ of sleeping in the same bed as Dr. Holiday, Six decided he would humor the woman this one night and finally laid down on the bed beside her. Not under the covers with her, but on the same bed.

She smiled, just a tiny bit, and scooted over to snuggle herself against his chest. "Okay. G'night, Six."

He practically froze at her touch, not knowing what to do or where to put his hands or _how he was going to fall asleep with her touching him like that._ After ten minutes, and realizing from her breathing that she was _definitely_ asleep, Six quietly and slowly lifted her hand off of his chest and turned around, facing away from her. Hopefully he'd be able to sleep like this.

xx

"So we need Breach to open a portal at the exact same time as this other Breach?" Rex asked, still slightly confused.

"Yeah," Holiday responded. "...yeah, we do." She sighed. "This is impossible."

Six frowned, looking over at the two of them. "Well, if _your_ Six is as different from me as you say he is, I'm sure _my_ Rebecca and Rex have figured it out by now. Maybe, if we time this right, we can all get back to where we belong."

Because he sure as hell wasn't enjoying his time _here._ Everyone thought he was crazy, Rex didn't seem to want to spend as much time with him, and Holiday had this no-touch policy that was driving him up a wall! What was with these people? This other version of himself must've been a serious stick-in-the-mud.

Holiday nodded. "I suppose that's our best bet at this point."

Rex leaned back in his chair. "So I guess I gotta charm Breach into helping us, huh?"

Smirking, Holiday rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't want to _make_ you, but if you want _our_ Six back, then...yes. You do."

Rex nodded. "I don't mind. No offense to you, Six, but...I think I'd rather have our Six."

Six just rolled his eyes in response. That much was obvious.

xx

Waking up the next morning, Six was oh-so-aware of arms wrapped around his waist. He knew he shouldn't wake her up, but this was just _way too much_ and he remembered what she was wearing to bed and now he could _feel_ just how little there was and he needed to get away from this touchy-feely Holiday before he had a stroke!

He slowly pried her hands off of him, trying not to wake her, but after a few tries she eventually started to mumble, and rubbed her face in the back of his neck. He stiffened at the feeling, but then decided that if she was up, he didn't have to be quiet. He quickly removed her hands and shot out of the bed, immediately opening his closet and pulling out a suit.

Holiday sat up in bed, looking very groggy, and rubbed at her eyes lightly. "...Six? What's-oh." She paused, remembering their conversation the night before. "Six, how do you expect us to get a hold of Breach?"

Slipping on his jacket, Six turned around, unintentionally taking in the image of Holiday with her hair down and messy, her face flushed from lack of sleep, her sleepwear...or lack thereof, slipping off her shoulders. He really was not comfortable at all.

"In my world, Breach has...sort of a crush on Rex. Is it like that here?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you count kidnapping him and calling him her 'doll' as a crush - then yes."

Nodding, Six opened a drawer that should've had his socks in it, but instead it was full of bras and ladies underwear. He immediately closed it. "I'm going to wake Rex up. The sooner we can find her, the sooner you can have _your_ Six back and I can get home."

Holiday watched him leave and sighed. She really did miss her Six.

xx

Six set the jet down in Abysus, a decent ways away from Van Kleiss' castle. This trip was...dangerous, though they all concluded it was necessary. Perhaps, if they pulled some bullshit speech, they could get the help they needed and escape without anyone dying or getting hurt.

They hoped...though they weren't really planning on success.

Rex stepped off first, looking around for dangerous EVOs, but the ones in their direct area seemed relatively harmless. He motioned for Six and Holiday to follow as he activated his Boogie Pack, and Six got out his hoverboard, Holiday hanging on to his waist.

Making their way towards the castle as quietly as possible, Rex suddenly noticed the exact person they were looking for on the outside of the castle, making portals and sending random EVOs through them. He smiled.

"There she is! Awesome - I didn't wanna have to see Van Crazy anytime soon."

"Watch it Rex," Holiday said cautiously. "It could be a trap."

Rex sighed. "Van Kleiss didn't even know we were coming, why would he set a _trap_?!"

Six shrugged. "She's got a point, Rex - you never know with Van Kleiss."

Rex growled. " _Fine!_ " He slowed down his Boogie Pack and landed on the ground a decent distance from Breach.

Her head immediately perked up when she noticed him, a disturbing smile covering her face. "Rex, _hey_ , what are _you_ doing here?"

"I don't have a lot of time to chat Breach - we need your help."

She disappeared through a portal, and suddenly was behind Rex. He made a small "yip!" sound and turned around at the sound of her voice.

"Why would _I_ help _you?_ You and Miss _Smarty Skirts_ and that stupid green man...I've got no reason to help you."

Rex sighed. " _Please_ , Breach - I don't know if you did it on purpose, but you switched Six with a different, weird Six from a parallel world!"

She tilted her head and smirked. "I didn't know I could do that!" she said happily, giggling against Rex's neck.

He shivered. "Well, apparently you can! Don't you wanna try and do it again? You can switch the Six's back!"

She laughed. "Why would I do _that?_ "

Rex covered his face with his hands and growled in frustration. "I don't know! What do you want that's not _me_ or not somebody _dead_?!"

Her response was silence; Six and Holiday watching cautiously from a distance as Breach disappeared into another portal. Rex turned around, only to find that she was behind him _again_.

Suddenly, she created a new portal, and Six and Holiday, and the hoverboard, fell through it and onto the ground. Six immediately moved to help Holiday up, and she took his hand awkwardly.

Breach watched them with a devious smile. "So you're saying _this_ green man is the _wrong_ green man? What's wrong with him? He sure _looks_ the same. Same color."

Rex sighed. "Yeah, he _looks_ the same - but he's _not_."

As Six and Holiday stood up, Breach appeared behind them, sending a barely-noticeable glare to the doctor. "How?" She eyed him up and down.

"It's his _personality_ , Breach, you can't tell just from-" Holiday started.

"I didn't ask _you,_ Miss Smarty Skirts!" Breach interrupted, going through another portal to appear directly in front of Holiday's face. "I'm asking _Rex._ "

Holiday immediately shut her mouth at the EVOs interruption; not wanting to show how scared she was of Breach's powers. Six noticed and quietly put an arm around her waist; rather than her usual objection, she just crossed her arms and let him.

Rex glared at Breach. "Like Doc said, it's his personality that's different, not his looks. You'd have to actually _know_ Six."

She pouted before smiling again. "Well then, if _I_ can't tell the difference, why should _I_ change him back?"

Rex glanced at his mentors, who made similarly unfortunate faces at him, and turned back to Breach. "Because if you don't, this could get ugly _really fast._ " He transformed his arms into Smack Hands to make his point. "I've beat you before, Breach - I can do it again."

The girl glared menacingly. "Aw Rex, I thought we were _past_ threats!" She giggled and appeared behind him again. "Don't worry - I'll do it. No extra charge."

His machines fell to the ground. "Really? No catch?"

The EVO suddenly appeared above him, her face hanging in front of his. "No catch!" And another giggle.

Rex raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but decided not to risk losing this chance. "Alright. Then...I..." He turned to the adults. "Holiday, how do we do this?"

Having already removed Six's hand from her waist, Holiday looked over at him, and back to Rex and Breach. "There's no way for us to know if they were able to convince the 'other' Breach. All we can do is just...keep sending Six through portals and hope they'll switch at some point."

Six frowned at her. "There's really _no_ other way?"

She shrugged. "It's what our Six is gonna have to do, too. Don't whine."

He continued frowning as Rex turned to Breach. "You're not gonna, like...send him to some random place super far away, right?"

She laughed again. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

Rex frowned _very_ deeply and activated a Smack Hand. " _Yeah_ , I guess we _will._ "

Breach pouted at his weapon and activated a portal, now properly standing on the ground in front of Six.

Seeing this, Holiday stepped away, and Six stood tall, ready for Breach's attack.

"Ready, Greenie?"

He rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses and nodded, just as he disappeared from everyone's sight through a red portal.

Holiday and Rex immediately turned around to see Six on the other side, and he stared back and forth between them.

He blinked. "This looks the same. Are we married?" he asked Holiday.

She frowned. " _No._ Looks like you'll have to keep trying, Breach."

The EVO glared at Holiday before repeating the same process.

xx

"So...you think you're in a wrong dimension?" Rex asked curiously - though this was already explained to him, he still couldn't figure out where this was coming from.

Six sighed in response. " _Yes_. Because yesterday you did not treat me like your _friend_ and Holiday and I were _not_ married. And we never know what Breach's portals can do."

Rex noticed Holiday cross her arms at how bluntly Six said that, and he frowned. "...oh. So those are bad things to you?"

Immediately, Six felt himself stiffen at the question. _No_ , they weren't necessarily _bad_ things, but they were...weird. He didn't dislike them, he just...they weren't how it was. And he wanted things how they were. "I just think it'd be better if you two had your own Six."

As everything quieted down and Six continued piloting to Abysus, Holiday sat next to Rex in the back.

"Doc...what's the chance he's right...instead of going totally crazy?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head. "I don't know, Rex. I really, _really_ want him to be right..."

x

Arriving in Abysus, Six landed the jet and quickly scanned the area for potential threats. As he was doing so, Rex opened the hatch and jumped out, followed by Holiday in her Providence jumpsuit. Six growled quietly as he noticed them moving without him telling them it's safe, but chalked it up to the parallel world version of him being such a _softie._

He didn't see anything dangerous nearby, besides the small EVOs _everywhere_ , and caught up to the other two, grabbing Rex's shoulder. "Rex."

The boy turned around. "What's up?"

"I'm sure you're already aware, but remember who we're dealing with. She's not going to agree to help us so easily," the older man warned, letting go of Rex.

He shrugged in response. "Yeah, don't worry, Six! I got this!" he said, before activating his Boogie Pack and taking the lead.

Six stared off at Rex as Holiday stepped next to him, reflexively wrapping her arms around his and leaning against his side. Six immediately stiffened and looked down at her and cleared his throat. " _Holiday._ "

"Hm?" She looked back up at him and followed his gaze to their connecting arms, and she immediately moved away from him. "...right. Sorry."

Six then took out his hoverboard, getting on and grabbed Dr. Holiday around the waist, pulling her on with him. Then they started to follow Rex.

x

"Why should _I_ help _you?_ " Breach giggled, appearing on Rex' left and right and top and bottom and wherever else she pleased.

He growled, activating a Smack Hand and shoving it in her face. " _Because_ , Breach! If you don't, I won't hesitate to beat you down!"

She frowned and stared at Rex for a few seconds, followed by a smirk and some giggling. "Okay, I'll do it."

Rex glared and pointed a giant mechanical fist at her. "Well too bad! You _have_ to-...wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah, sure!" She giggled again, stopping just after it turned into a somewhat maniacal laugh. "Just tell me what you need me to do, _Rex_..."

He shuddered at her laugh, and then even moreso at the way she said his name. "Well, Doc? What does she need to do? Just shoot him through portals?"

Six made an unsatisfied face as Holiday nodded. "If we're lucky, and this is all actually true...then the other world's Breach will be doing this, too."

As Rex moved out of the way, glaring at Breach, she positioned herself in front of Six and Holiday. Rebecca looked up at this man who wore her husband's face, and quickly kissed him on the cheek before backing away. She _knew_ he didn't like that, but in case something happened...

As Breach lifted her arms, Rex growled out, "You better not send him somewhere far away, Breach!" and she smirked, sending the portal down on top of Six.

He appeared next to Rex, who jumped a bit, startled by his sudden presence. "..Six?"

The agent glared down at Rex, then looked over at Holiday - specifically her hand. "I'm still in the wrong place. Try again."

Breach quirked her head to the side and did as Six said, sending him through another portal.

xx

"Rebecca, I don't know how much longer I can do this," Six said quietly, appearing out of a portal right next to her.

She turned to him and sighed. "You're not feeling sick are you? We'd _really_ like to get you home..."

He scoffed. "Believe me, I'd like to go home, too. But this doesn't seem to be _working_."

She frowned and looked over at Rex, who shrugged uncomfortably. Turning back to Six, Holiday sighed again. "Maybe...just one more try?"

Six looked down at her and smiled a bit. "One more time can't hurt."

She blushed, still uncomfortable at the attention this Six gave her, and nodded.

Rex looked over at Breach. "One more time, Breach. Let's go."

She giggled in response and created the portal.

xx

Six bit his cheek. This was getting _ridiculous._ Not only were Holiday and Rex started to doubt his theory, he was getting a huge headache from all this portal-travel.

" _Six_ ," Rex started, he and Holiday walking up to him. "Are you sure you wanna keep doing this?"

Holiday nodded in agreement. "We could just run some tests on you instead. Get you some help..."

He closed his eyes, frowning deeply. They _really_ thought he was messed up in the head. What if he was? What if he'd actually hit his head that hard?

Opening his eyes again, he looked at Holiday and Rex. He didn't like this overattachment they had. Did their Six not realize how easily he could die? Then these two would never get over it. He couldn't imagine _ever_ being comfortable with this. He needed to try...at least once more.

Sighing quietly, he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Let's just...try it one more time. Just in case."

Holiday and Rex gave each other sad looks before nodding and backing away. Rex gave Breach their instructions, and Six held his breath as the portal overtook him.

xxxxx

That extra few seconds - he _knew_ it, he could feel the similarity from that portal he went through the day before. There was a vibration, like he'd jumped through a wall of water, and suddenly everything was normal again.

And there was his reflection - and in that moment he realized; that's not a reflection. That's the _him_ that he was switched with. That's this other _Six._

They stared at each other during the brief moment they could, and suddenly everything was black.

xxxxx

He shot out of the portal, immediately staring down at Holiday's hand, where he'd been looking each time to confirm whether or not he was home.

There was no ring. He was back.

An awkwardly small smile appeared on his lips and he turned to the EVO next to him.

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Six? Are you...are you back?"

He nodded. "I...think so."

Holiday ran over to them, putting her hands on his face. "Were you...actually in another world? Do you feel sick or anything? I-I'm not really sure how you should feel after a trip like that..."

His ears turned the slightest bit pink, her touch reminding him of their marriage and the fact that they _slept in the same bed_ , and he reached up and pulled her hands away from him. "I feel fine. Headache - but otherwise fine."

Rex grabbed Six's hand and held it up. "And look at that! No ring! I guess you two aren't married anymore!"

Holiday felt her face heat up and she pushed her bangs out of her face. " _Anyways_ , um..." She turned around. "Breach. ...thank you."

The EVO girl smiled and giggled. "Oh, are we done? I was _so_ enjoying the disappointed looks on your faces!"

Rex scowled and activated his BFS, shoving it in her face. "We're getting out of here, Breach! No funny business! Just let us leave!"

She scowled at first, but left them off with a large smile. "Go ahead, _Rex_. I won't stop you."

Keeping the sword extracted, Rex circled around Breach, Holiday and Six walking behind him, and they eventually made their way back to the jet.

"So Six," Rex started, noticing Six cradling his head. "What were me 'n Holiday like in that other world?"

Six glared down at the EVO. "You talked too much. _Way_ too much."

As he closed the ramp to the jet and sat down in the pilot's seat, Rex leaned over and smirked. "What about Holiday? Married life must be _fun_ , huh?"

Six glared even harder. He knew what the kid was getting at. "Different. Uncomfortably different."

Rex pouted and slumped into a seat in the back next to Dr. Holiday. "Lame. I wanted _details_."

She lightly slapped the top of his head in response, blushing _just a little bit_. "You don't _need_ any details!"

"Ow..."

As Six lifted the jet off the ground, he smirked. It was good to be back.

xx

He smiled ever-so-slightly as he fell through the portal. Apparently Breach decided that this last one would be funny. He landed on the ground _right_ next to Holiday, and immediately sat up at the sight of her hand.

"Six? Are you...are you feeling okay?" she asked quietly, reaching her hand out to help him up.

He smirked before grabbing her hand, pulling her down so she was lying on his knee, and he kissed her as passionately as he could. Holiday responded with her hands around his neck, smiling into the kiss.

Rex cheered and ran over, _so_ glad to see his Six was back. As Six and Holiday separated, she hugged him tightly, and Rex wrapped his arms around Six's neck as well.

Breach tilted her head to the side awkwardly as she watched them in their little group hug, and out of spite she sent _all of them_ through another portal.

When they opened their eyes, Holiday and Rex were the first to notice their new surroundings. "Oh...come _on_..." Holiday mumbled.

"Ugh... _Breach_!" Rex screamed.

Rex and Six looked around. They were surrounded by sand, sand, and more sand.

But as he watched Holiday seethe and Rex scream to the skies, he smiled. It was _very_ good to be back.


	19. 95-100

Heyyy guys! I shoved the rest of the fics together for a nice 5-fic-long finale! And this is finally done after over a year, I think. Took me long enough ugh. Anyway, enjoy the last few fics, my favorite is 99 lmao it's so funny okay ENJOY I LOVE YOU genrex & holix forever

 **95\. Acceptance**  
 **:: Six, Holiday. No porn but mentions of sex!**

She woke up slowly, feeling groggy and gross and too warm and a little nauseous all at the same time. Though it didn't happen often, she was plenty familiar with the feeling. Apparently, though she didn't remember when, why, or how, Holiday had gotten very drunk the previous night.

Assuming it was morning, anyway. It felt like morning, but she didn't want to open her eyes just yet – knowing she'd have a major headache as soon as the light came into view. There was definitely no sunlight in the room, but the window in her room was usually covered by shutters, anyway. She could tell from behind her closed eyes that there was a light on _somewhere_ though. Maybe a lamp or the bathroom light.

She rolled to her side and considered just going back to sleep 'cause screw getting up when she felt like this when suddenly she heard a shuffling noise and what distinctly sounded like footsteps.

Immediately, Holiday bolted upwards, eyes wide open, and looked in the direction of the noise.

Six was standing there, in front of the open bathroom door, completely shirtless and sunglasses-less, toothbrush hanging from his mouth, and looking like he was just about to take a shower.

Holiday squinted, considering the possibility that she was still asleep or going crazy. Why was Six taking a shower in _her_ bathroom? And why was he just staring back at her and not saying anything?

She glanced to the dresser next to him where she usually kept a clock and noticed it wasn't there. Maybe it fell? She looked around the room and suddenly noticed that nothing was familiar. In fact, there was barely anything personal in the room at all. It felt like the kind of lacking decorations she'd expect Six to have.

With that thought, Holiday's eyebrows shot up and she looked back at Six. Normally she'd be worried about her growing headache, but the adrenaline rush from the fear of why she might be in Six's bedroom was distracting her.

"…Six?"

Six nodded at her and moved back to the bathroom, spitting out the toothpaste and coming back. "Hello, Dr. Holiday."

Hearing his voice just solidified the fact that she probably wasn't hallucinating, and Holiday closed her eyes and gripped her head as she thought about that. She looked down out of reflex and finally noticed that she was…completely naked under the blankets. She stared down at her boobs before looking back up at Six and quickly covered herself with the blanket.

"Uh-um…" she started. " _Six…_ did we-uh…did-…"

"I believe we had sex at some point last night, if that's what you're asking," Six said with as straight a face as possible.

She stared at him. "You _believe_ we had sex?! You don't know?!"

"I don't have the best memory when I'm inebriated, Doctor," he said. "I remember the before, but not the during."

"W-well what happened before?!" she squeaked, knowing her face was getting redder. This was ridiculous! She's an adult! So she may have had mutually drunken sex with her very handsome coworker. Not the worst thing that could happen, right?

"Party for Rex's birthday. Bobo spiked the punch. Normally I would've noticed right away, but apparently he's been experimenting with vodka flavors to make them less detectable," he said quickly. "We both had too much and ended up here. That's the gist of it, anyway."

Holiday just nodded. That all was vaguely familiar in her mind, though she wished she remembered it better. She wished she remembered _all_ of it, to be specific.

After a minute of silence, Six spoke up. "…I'm sorry."

She raised an eyebrow. " _You're_ sorry? I'm probably the one who initiated it," she confessed as her face started to go back to its normal color. The sooner they could talk this through and get it out of the way, the better.

Six shrugged. "True, but…well, we're in _my_ room. I can't help but feel responsible for that, at least."

Holiday considered that for a second, but decided the blame game was pointless. "Speaking of…where are my clothes?"

He walked over to a chair in the corner and grabbed some folded clothes from a pile. "These are what I found. I don't know if it's everything, but I only woke up a half hour ago." He tossed the clothes at her, not wanting to make her uncomfortable by getting too close.

Holiday grabbed them and looked through – underwear, skirt, shirt. "…my bra is missing," she said.

Six shrugged. "Don't have a spare for you to borrow, but I'm sure it's in here somewhere."

She rolled her eyes at his attempt at comedy and put on the underwear while still under the sheets, lifting up his pillows to look around for the last, but very important part of her outfit. While she did that, Six looked back at the bathroom, then back at her. "I'll, uh, leave you to this, then."

As he started to leave, Holiday huffed out a breath. "Six. We should…talk."

He cringed. "And you know how much I love talking."

"We can't just _ignore_ that this happened," she said, glaring over at him. "I'm not saying we have to start a relationship 'cause of this, but we should at least…talk."

"We _could_ just ignore it, though," Six said, not looking at her.

Holiday bit her lip and looked down. "I…I don't want to ignore it. I really don't think you do, either."

Slowly, Six turned around and made his way over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Alright."

She scooted up next to him, still covering herself with the sheet out of modesty. Not that he hadn't already gotten a good look at them, anyway. "So…what was this? Just random?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, Holiday. It definitely wasn't _planned._ "

"Right, well…" She glanced away from him. "I'm…even though I can't remember it, I'm not sorry it happened."

Six looked over at her and didn't say anything for a minute, wondering if she'd laugh that off and take it back. When she didn't, he moved his hand to the back of his neck. "I'm…not sorry either."

Holiday exhaled loudly and laughed a bit. "Thank _God._ You took so long to respond I thought I just screwed myself."

He smiled at her. "I guess I already took care of that."

She looked shocked at his comment and Six paused, realizing what he just said, before slapping his hand against his forehead. "Sorry, that was…sorry."

A few seconds passed and Holiday laughed, leaning against him. "I can't believe we had _sex._ "

He stayed still. "I can't believe I don't remember any of it."

The thought that they could repeat it while sober came to both of their minds, and Holiday sat up straight so she didn't think about touching him. She glanced around the room, taking it all in now that she knew exactly where she was. Six's room was…well, it was as boring as she expected. No surprises there.

"We should get dinner tonight," Six said suddenly, turning towards her. "…if you're interested."

Holiday stared at him before smiling brightly. "I think that's a great idea."

They continued to stare for a couple seconds before Holiday noticed a clock on the wall behind Six, finally seeing that it was already 9:30 in the morning. She frowned. "Okay, you go shower so I can get dressed."

He nodded and walked towards the bathroom. "Pick you up from your room at six?"

"Meeting Six at six. I can do that." He shut the door and Holiday went back to searching for her bra, deciding not to focus too much on last night or the upcoming night or she'd never be able to focus on work.

 **96\. Luck**  
 **:: Bobo, Rex, Six**

"Kid, you're thinking about it too much. Just look at your cards and if you've got high cards, keep 'em."

"Okay…" Rex shuffled through them. "So if, say, I had two aces and a king…I would wanna keep those? And trade the others in?"

Bobo nodded. "That's a good hand you got there! Definitely keep those three." He grabbed Rex's other two cards and put them at the bottom of the deck before handing him two new ones. "What do you think now?"

"I think…" Rex squinted at the cards in his hands. "I think that those didn't help me at all. You gave me two really low cards."

Bobo shrugged. "Luck of the draw, Kid. You can trade 'em in again, if you want. Got another turn, still."

Rex nodded and handed the cards back, getting new ones to replace them. "Ooh!"

"Okay, in a real game you can't look or sound super excited! It'll make it obvious to the other players that you've got a good hand and you don't want them to know anything. Got it?"

Rex nodded again. "Well, I…I'm pretty sure I have a really good hand!"

"Let's see it."

Rex slapped down his cards to reveal three aces, a king, and a seven. Bobo nodded. "Three-of-a-kind with aces high…that beats mine by a mile. Good thing we weren't betting anything."

Smiling, Rex collected the chips in the middle. "But we're betting these little chip thingies! I wanna win all of 'em!"

Bobo laughed as Rex started throwing the chips above his head until the door near them opened up and Six stared down at them.

"Hey Six! Bobo's teaching me how to play Texas Pulled 'Em!"

"Hold 'em."

"Hold 'em!"

Six glared down at the monkey. "He's _thirteen._ He doesn't need to know how to _gamble._ "

"Just teaching the kid a card game, Green Man. Don't get your panties in a twist."

Six grumbled and turned to walk away. He was _not_ in the mood for this.

 **97\. Enthusiasm**  
 **:: Kenwyn**

People often asked her why she was so dedicated to Providence. " _It's a corrupt organization"!_ they would always tell her. But she knew better. She knew the _real_ Providence.

At age sixteen, Kenwyn was a happy part of the Jones Family – who lived in a little town called Boulder City outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Kenwyn, and her little sister Lydia. They weren't rich and sometimes had trouble getting by every month, but they loved each other and were getting by as best as they could.

Kenwyn, smart as she was, had skipped a grade in middle school and was already a senior in High School. She was ready to graduate as Valedictorian _and_ the youngest in her class and her family could not be more proud.

Lydia, especially, was so proud of her big sister. Not only was Kenwyn her hero and idol in every single way, but Kenwyn had talked to their parents and made it easier for Lydia to come out to them and admit to having a girlfriend. They were shocked, but accepting. And it was all thanks to Kenwyn. She really was the ultimate sister and the perfect role model.

It was, on the day of Kenwyn's high school graduation, that _The Terrible Thing_ occurred. In their family, they primarily chose to not talk about it. Not talking about tragedies was the easiest way to keep being optimistic and happy. Kenwyn used to agree with them, but after _The Terrible Thing_ , she wanted them to talk more. She wanted them to talk about Grandpa's death and about their financial problems and she wanted them to have proper arguments and debates like a regular family.

They didn't want to – they _really_ didn't want to – but Lydia's missing legs made it hard to avoid thinking about it.

Kenwyn was in the middle of giving her Valedictorian speech when _The Terrible Thing_ happened. It was a giant hoard of EVOs – creatures that a lot of people were still coming to terms with – that stampeded through the ceremony. Lots of people were injured – four students and two parents were killed – but Kenwyn's family could only pay attention to the screams of their youngest daughter whose legs had been crushed under the weight of the EVOs and there was so much _blood_ and they could see pieces of bone sticking out and-

And then they came.

 _Providence._

Kenwyn was in awe as this group of soldiers – _hundreds_ of them! – came down from the sky like they were angels...and they started cleaning up. Half of them went after the EVOs and the other half started tending to the wounded. Lydia was taken away and Kenwyn and her family all came with to make sure she was okay. Obviously she'd never be _okay_ , but she'd survive. And that was what mattered most.

So when people asked her why she was so dedicated to Providence, why she put her life on pause and joined this military organization instead of taking her full scholarship to Cornell? She didn't feel like telling them the whole story. They didn't need to know her sister's tragedy and her family's struggles in trying to pay for the medical bills. All she needed to say was that Providence _saved_ her family and she owed them. She owed them her service and she wanted to help people all around the world so no one would have to go through what Lydia went through.

She was going to become the best goddamn agent that Providence had ever had!

 **98\. Game**  
 **:: Holiday, Six, Rex, Noah**

"I still don't see the point to all this."

Holiday didn't respond to Six's negativity as she grabbed the drinks and food from him, handing some of them over to Rex and Noah, then turning back as the agent sat down in the aisle seat next to her.

"It won't kill you to humor Rex for a few hours, Six."

He scoffed. "We'll see."

She smirked, lightly shoving his arm. Usually she wasn't so physical with Six, but being out at a football game like this just brought her back to her high school days.

Not that she had a boyfriend in high school, but she _did_ love going to games with her girlfriends. Er...not that Six was her boyfriend. Or one of her girlfriends.

Actually, this wasn't all that similar. She just had a love for football games that she hadn't been able to experience in a _long_ time.

Fortunately for them, Six didn't complain much during the first quarter. Holiday even though she saw him lean forward in interest during a particularly risky play by their team - but Six would deny it immediately. He didn't want her to think he _liked_ this sort of thing, that meant she'd try to drag him here again.

Rex and Noah, on the other hand, were constantly standing and screaming and cheering. Six had a huge headache. He would've considered leaving at half-time, but unfortunately they all came in one car. Realistically, Rex could just fly Noah and Holiday home, but they _were_ trying to keep a low profile. Famous Providence employees really shouldn't be out at some random football game, after all.

That fact only added to Six's discomfort once he realized that during breaks in the game, there were different kinds of 'cams' that went around filming fans in the stands. So far, he'd seen a 'Flex Cam' - Noah and Rex appeared on screen for that one - a 'Booty Shake Cam' - to which he paid no attention - and a 'Disco Cam' - which was actually kind of entertaining.

As the next break started, Six briefly wondered what the next one would be. Since he'd never been to a football game before, he didn't know all the different options.

At that moment, the announcer yelled about a 'Kiss Cam' - and the screen showed a couple with a huge heart around them. It wasn't difficult to figure out what they were supposed to do, though the thought that they'd get a brother and sister pair on camera made the agent smirk.

The first couple on screen didn't notice the camera at first, but as soon as the girl saw it, she roughly grabbed the boy next to her - hopefully her boyfriend or husband - and planted one on him. The camera then moved to an elderly couple, who kissed each other and made a few people in the stands (Holiday included) say "aww".

The camera moved again, though Six was completely unprepared. He immediately tensed at the sight of himself on camera, and then at the realization that he and Holiday were expected to share a kiss on this public screen in front of thousands of people...

He opted to not move, able to see Holiday's reaction on the screen. Anyone could clearly see Rex and Noah laughing their heads off next to her, and Rex was even nudging her in the arm. Her face was red and she was biting her lip - pretty obviously nervous. Or uncomfortable.

The camera shook a little bit, and the words "PEER PRESSURE" appeared above and below the heart-bordered image of the agent and doctor. He bit the inside of his cheek, glancing over at Holiday, who was shielding her eyes from view.

After another moment, which must've not been as long as it felt, Six turned, reached over and lightly cupped the back of Holiday's neck, pulling her towards him for a very quick kiss. Anything to get the camera off of them.

Her response included a squeak and both hands coming up to grasp his shoulders, and after the second he thought the kiss would last, he realized that he couldn't make himself pull away. And Holiday didn't seem to want to, either...

Another few seconds later he overheard Noah say to Rex, "Man, are they _still_ going at it?!" and Rex just laughed even more.

At that, the adults finally separated, glad to see that the camera had not been on them that entire time. In fact, the game had started up again. Holiday's face turned red at that realization, and Six knew his ears were turning pink. That hadn't exactly been the ideal situation for a first kiss...

But, well...he was glad it happened. At least it seemed like no one recognized them. And when he looked back over at Holiday, she was back to enjoying the game, though she did give him a small smile when she noticed him looking her way.

 **99\. Auction**  
 **:: Main cast + some extras! Ft Holix**

"You can't be serious."

White Knight glared at the person speaking to him, hoping they had suddenly grown a sense of humor and were trying to screw with him.

"Absolutely serious," she responded. "The people need to see Providence in a more charitable light."

"It's raising money _for_ Providence!"

"And by participating, we can encourage more organizations to do just that. Get Rex. Six, too. They're required, other than that just go with whose interested."

White pinched between his eyes. "Six is never going to agree to this."

"Make him. I don't care how you do it."

"…Alright. I'll get it done."

"Good. See you at the auction, then."

White Knight didn't say a word as the purple-haired woman disappeared from his screen. He couldn't stand when she gave him orders, but…she was right. If they participated in these kinds of charity events, maybe they'd get more money. _Especially_ with Rex and Six on board. But how the hell was he going to get Six to participate in a _date auction?!_

X

"You can't be serious."

White snorted. "Funny, that's exactly what I said."

Six adjusted his sunglasses. "Rex'll do it. He loves this kind of crap."

"I know. But you have to do it, too."

"No."

"It's not a request, _Agent._ It's an order. From the _top._ " White felt like even more of an ass than usual – he didn't mind sending Six on dangerous, life-threatening missions, but Six _did_ have a sort of reputation he liked to uphold.

Six shook his head in disbelief. "From the- _what?!_ Why?"

"Apparently they're under the impression that you're going to rake in a lot of money." White couldn't help but smirk at that.

Six frowned. "This is because of that stupid Ultimate Exposure segment, isn't it?"

"Probably."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "How do these things work? I just have to take some rich woman out on a date?"

"Something like that," White said with a shrug. "The organization running it will give you the details."

"Am I getting anything out of this?" Six said quickly, hoping White would give him a bonus of some sort. Or maybe an intern to do all his paperwork so he could focus on fighting.

White frowned and looked off to both sides before smirking down at Six. "It'll probably make Holiday extremely jealous, how's that work for you?"

Six rolled his eyes and had to fight the urge to smack his forehead with his palm before shutting off the screen. He wasn't going to acknowledge that comment with a response.

X

"A date auction?! Awesome!" Rex jumped onto his bed. "Girls are gonna bid _thousands_ of dollars for a date with me, Six!"

Six rolled his eyes again. This was going to be a hellish nightmare.

"Maybe you could get a good hundred or so…I mean, if the Doc decides to bid anything!" Rex laughed at Six's immediate frown. "I can't believe White got you to do this. What'd he offer you?"

"Nothing. The orders were from higher up than him," Six said, still frowning.

"Whoa! They must've seen how much that news lady was into you. Probably figured ladies would pay a lot for a date." He laughed again. "They'll probably make you be _nice_ and _gentlemanly_ on your date, too!"

With another eye roll, Six turned around and started to leave. "Just make sure you're not late."

X

Holiday tried not to laugh – honestly, she did. She snorted at first and immediately covered her mouth, but then she couldn't stop thinking about it and suddenly burst out into laughter when Six came up to her.

Six just glared at her. "I take it Rex told you?"

She stopped after twenty seconds or so, and continued to cover her mouth. "I'm-I'm so sorry, Six, I just-I'm… _you?_ For a _date auction?_ "

"Yes. I'm being forced. Against my will."

"Well, don't say that to the lucky lady who pays for you. And tell her she looks _pretty_ , not just 'nice,' okay?"

Six felt an unmistakable urge to comment on how well Holiday was taking this. He didn't expect her to get _angry_ , but…well. He expected her to be a little put-off. But of course he wouldn't voice that confusion. "Alright. Any other advice?"

"Hmm…" She put a finger to her chin in thought. "Where are you planning on taking the highest bidder? Restaurant?"

"I…hadn't really given it any thought. I assumed she would choose."

"Well, come up with something nice in case she wants you to pick!" Holiday smirked. She gave him a light pat on the shoulder before starting to turn away.

Six bit his bottom lip for a brief moment before opening his mouth. "So this doesn't bother you at all?"

She turned around and raised an eyebrow. "What? You being auctioned off?"

"…yes," Six said as neutrally as possible.

Holiday smirked again. "I got a date from you for _free_ a few weeks ago, if somebody wants to pay, they can be my guest." She went back on her way out the door.

Six raised an eyebrow at Holiday's confidence. Of course she had to know she was gorgeous, and that he was more interested in her than anyone else, but…alright, maybe White had a point. Six wanted her to be jealous. At least a _little_ jealous. Hopefully she showed up to the auction – maybe someone she knows will be there.

X

Shockingly, or maybe not so shockingly, the auction was already a huge success. First to go out were some soldiers that Six didn't know particularly well, but they were all decent looking men, he supposed, and the women in the crowd (and a few men, he noticed) were bidding a few hundred dollars. _That_ he found surprising – how rich _were_ these people? And the soldier that just went up he was _pretty sure_ was married. Maybe his wife would be the one to bid on him.

Six was forced to go last because of the news show making him – not his words – "extremely yummy and exciting." He hoped to whatever God might be out there that Five through Dos didn't find out about this. Not that he paid much attention to them these days, but still. He didn't…he didn't want to think about it much.

Callan was up next. Six listened from behind the scenes as _he_ called out for more money. Started talking about all the things he was really great at and would take the girls to see. He was enjoying this way too much. Apparently some men enjoy having women want to spend a lot of money for a date with them, but Six just didn't understand the appeal. Though he didn't understand the appeal of paying someone for a date in general – when he was younger he would just go to a bar and find someone for free.

The announcer was starting to say the "going once, going twice," stuff for Callan, so Six went back to paying attention. Callan was sold for $2000. _That_ was…shocking, to say the least. Maybe some girls enjoyed the cowboy type. Was $2000 a lot for these sorts of events? Was someone going to pay even _more_ than that for him? That was…honestly ridiculous. Maybe they were being generous since it was for charity. But _still._

Rex went up next. He was excited – probably the most excited Six had ever seen him. Rex was immediately hamming it up for the audience, and the girls were screeching to the point where Six had to cover his ears. The announcer was shouting about all of Rex's great qualities – many of them Six was a bit doubtful of – while Rex blew kisses and winked at everyone he could see.

Six peeked out of the certain to see what kind of women were making all these bets. There were a _lot_ of older women in the crowd who were happily participating and Six didn't know how he felt about that. Alright, no, he felt uncomfortable. Holiday would probably be pissed. Though speaking of, Rex probably didn't mind hanging out with older women now that he thought about it.

They were already at $2000 for Rex, so clearly he was going to beat Callan's amount. Not that it was a contest, he was pretty sure. Maybe it was? Did they mean he was expected to be the winner? Rex was already at $3000 now. Surely no woman would pay more than that for a date with Six. He wasn't exactly friendly company. Or charming. Though according to Diane Farrah, he was _extremely_ handsome. And here he'd been self-conscious about his receding hairline. Apparently no one cared about that!

"Sold for four thousand two hundred dollars!"

Six's eyes widened – holy _shit_ that was a lot of money – and peeked out again to see who'd won Rex. It looked like an older woman - maybe in her late 30s? – she was definitely too old for Rex. But Rex waltzed down the stage steps to meet with her. Six was tempted to say something about the age difference when he distinctly heard the woman in question say she couldn't wait for Rex to meet her daughter.

…alright. That was fine, then.

But _still,_ $4200. That was just ridiculous.

And that thought stayed in Six's head as he heard the announcer start to call for him – she started with a description, and it was completely exaggerated and some of it just untrue, and also...very embarrassing. She called him a _charming and very hands-on kind of guy._ Holiday would probably be laughing her head off if she was here, so Six assumed she had other things to do.

He wouldn't be here if he didn't have to be, so Six didn't mind. He stepped out when the announcer woman called his name and immediately put his hands in his pockets. No smiling, no posing. He was just going to stand here until this was over.

The announcer started with "Do I have two thousand dollars?" and Six almost let his mouth hang open. She started at five hundred for Rex, and just started at zero for the others. There was no way in Hell that some woman was going to pay-

"Five thousand!"

Six's eyebrows shot up and he looked out to find the woman who'd said that. His eyes landed on not just one woman, but a _group_ of (admittedly) very attractive women who were holding up their cash together.

"Five thousand dollars! Ladies and gentleman this is already our record for the night!" the announcer woman shouted into her microphone excitedly. "Anyone think they can top that?"

Six looked over at her. "They can put their money together?"

She smirked at him. "They can do whatever they want, so long as we get the money. And don't forget to give _all_ of them lots of attention!"

He looked back at the group. There were five women in total. Was he actually being forced to take out all of these women at once? Well, it was better than having to take each of them out on a date, he supposed.

As the announcer continued asking for more bets, since they'd only just started after all, Six scanned the crowd for anyone familiar. He was starting to get bored, not seeing anyone he recognized, until his eyes landed on a particular someone who he thought wasn't going to be there.

Holiday was standing in the back of the room (wearing casual clothes and a pair of sunglasses, incognito maybe?), leaning against the wall and biting her lip – clearly staring at the group of women Six was about to take out. She was obviously, visibly jealous, and Six felt himself smile at that fact.

A couple women in the crowd gasped as he smiled, and Six immediately went back to his usual frown. No need to make anyone think he was smiling over his quintuple date. Not that he should be complaining, there were some _very_ nice possibilities for him as the moment. And it's not like he and Holiday were _official_ …but…

"Going once! Going twice! Aaaand-"

" _F-five thousand a-and one!_ "

Six looked for the source of the voice. And he smirked very obviously when he saw. Holiday was holding up one hand in the back of the room, covering her eyes with her other hand.

He almost felt like laughing. After that little talk she gave him, she still couldn't stand seeing him go out with another woman. And could she even afford that kind of donation?

"We have five thousand and one! Anyone wanna take it up to two?"

The group of women who'd bet previously were scrambling to find more money – they even bothered some of the people sitting around them for anything. Six was glad he wouldn't have to go with them, they seemed too energetic for his liking.

"Five thousand and one! Going once! Going twice!"

Holiday smacked herself in the face with her hand. She was going to regret this so, _so_ much.

" _Sold!_ "

Six was smirking more than he'd ever smirked before. He was _never_ going to let her live this one down. And he made his way towards her in the back of the room, ignoring the comments from the women on either side of him and he took the few steps to be right in front of her.

Holiday didn't look up at him. Six leaned down. "Seems like it bothered you after all."

She pouted. "Well I didn't think it'd be a _group_ of women! A-and all of them are _gorgeous_ , I can tell from up here! It's not like I'm being irrational when-"

He cut her off by reaching down and picking her up bridal-style. "No, Holiday, this was completely irrational and you know it."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and glared at him. "Y'know what? I'm going to make the most out of this, _Agent._ You have to do what I say for a night, that's the rules, right?"

"Within reason," he said as they walked out of the room.

"Fine. _Within reason_ ," Holiday mimicked. "You're taking me to that Mexican place I've wanted to go to. I don't care if we need reservations, get us in there! And then we're going dancing, and you actually have to dance with me."

Six frowned at her. "Maybe I should go back to those other wome-"

Holiday cut him off with a chaste kiss, moving back to glare at him. "I lost a _lot_ of money today. You better make this night worth it!"

He considered the innuendo hidden behind that statement and chose to shrug – all he was going to think about for the rest of the night was the feeling of her lips on his.

 **100\. Endings**  
 **:: Six, Holiday, Rex. Inspired by a fanart called "Cure, Contain...or KILL" by Miyathena1975 on deviantART. I don't think allows links so google it and check it out.**

" _Six!"_

"Stay here."

"What? No, you need-"

" _You_ need to keep track of Rex's vitals! Promise me you'll stay here!"

"…Six-"

" _Holiday._ "

"…be careful."

xx

She hated when he did this. He would treat her like a child – like someone he had to protect instead of a capable woman who could handle herself. Dr. Rebecca Holiday was not someone who wanted to sit on the sidelines! Not for something like this.

Van Kleiss – who was back, after a year of complete silence from him - had sent an army. Not just a battalion or a big group. An _army._ There were thousands of EVOs marching to Providence headquarters and Rex was working with the soldiers to take them down, but…it was clear Van Kleiss was up to something. He wouldn't send such a huge army without due cause. It was more than just a comeback attack, they could tell.

And it was terrifying! Rex and Six were down there – even _White Knight_ had donned his suit and joined in. Everyone was aware of the potential dangers of Van Kleiss' attack. Of what it could _mean._ Was he after Rex again? Did he want something?

All she could hear was shouting. This stupid commlink just gave her headaches – anytime Rex landed on his side he'd accidentally turn it on and start screaming into her ear. Six always managed to stay silent – which was just as discomforting.

She didn't really promise him anything, but Holiday was almost too nervous to move. Everyone was running around and screaming and she just wanted to join the _fight_ , but Six was right – she needed to monitor Rex's vitals.

xx

It'd been six hours since the fighting started. She didn't know what to do with herself anymore. So many people were coming in and out of the medbay to collect more soldiers and get them help. Rex had passed out twice already and Holiday's heart was racing every time she waited for him to answer her again. Six was only speaking to her when she specifically asked for him.

…and now it'd been twenty minutes since she last called for Six and he still hadn't responded. Holiday knew if he didn't respond in ten more minutes she was headed to the battlefield and she didn't care how dangerous it was.

" _Agent Six? Come in, Six!"_

Still no word. Rex called in and asked why she didn't sound so worried about _him_ , but he didn't know where Six was either.

" _Six!"_

No response. She was already getting her coat. "Rex, don't do anything too reckless, I'm going to look for Six."

" _Are you sure that's such a good id-"_

"Don't do anything too reckless!"

"… _okay, okay! Be careful!"_

She was getting tired of everyone telling her to be careful. 34-years-old and people still treat her like this! And not just Six and Rex – multiple soldiers commented on her rushing out of headquarters with a worried expression on her face. They kept _bothering_ her and how could they not realize she had somewhere more important to be?!

She rushed out of the building and took one of Providence's cycles, riding further onto the grounds and through the mess of human and EVO bodies. She knew better than to dwell on it, she just had to keep going.

After about three minutes of driving, Holiday got to a point where she could see some soldiers fighting EVOs in the distance. Either Six was with them, or he was somewhere _else_ , or he could be dead or injured or who knows! Either way, she was on foot from here on.

With her guns out and eyes sharp, Holiday started walking towards the battles. She had to step over some bloody EVO carcasses - which was disgusting and awful and she felt a pang in her heart for the possible family that EVO could've had – and then there was a crunch under her boot.

She lifted it and looked down. It was…a commlink. Whoever it belonged to, it was broken now. But as she looked down, she saw a pair of sunglasses just a few feet away. Her heart stopped as she walked over and picked them up, brushing dirt and dust off of them. Six wasn't dead. His sunglasses just fell off and he was too busy to come get them. It didn't mean he was _dead._ He would've-…he couldn't have told her, that was probably his commlink.

So _stupid!_ She should've…she should've said something to him before he left. That she loves him or something stupid like that. They were only kind of sort of awkwardly dating still after all this time, but she knew how he felt and he knew how she felt…and she wish she could've said something…and it was just frustrating knowing she had the opportunity and just-

There were footsteps in front of her and Holiday's looked over to see Six's brown shoes stained with blood. She wiped tears off her cheeks before standing up straight and seeing the face of the man she thought might be gone.

He stared down at her and she stared back at him. There was still fighting going on and he was covered in blood and scratches and his jacket was gone and her heart was racing.

"…I told you to stay there."

She closed her eyes and looked down at the sunglasses in her hands. "You weren't answering me."

Six took a step closer to her. "I'm sorry."

Holiday looked up again to see him right in front of her. "I know," she said while she started to bring the sunglasses up and back onto his face. There was something intimate about putting them on for him that made her feel…serene. Not exactly happy, but, she liked that he let her.

With her hands on the sides of his face, Six dropped his swords and squeezed her waist, pulling her in for a kiss. He didn't care if anyone saw, he was tired and aching and scared and he was so happy to see her. And she kissed him back passionately – wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and moving her lips against his like she thought she'd never see him again.

When they finally parted, Six didn't want to let go of her.

"…I love you."

Holiday's eyes widened and she just…stared at him. A part of her wanted to blurt _"you do?!"_ but she held it in, _thank God_ , because that would be the worst possible reaction.

Six stared down at her expectantly. He didn't expect this to be some movie moment where she says _"I love you, too"_ and then they kiss until the sun sets, but…he kind of expected a response right away.

Holiday bit her lip and finally, after _way_ too long of not responding, leaned up and kissed him again. "I love you, too, Six…I love you so much."

They wanted to stay and enjoy each other's company for as long as they could, but Six knew he'd have to return to the fight. As he started to go, Holiday grabbed his hand.

"I'm coming with."

"Holiday, you can't-"

" _Yes,_ I can. I'm coming with you," she said confidently.

Six just smiled at her. He knew she could handle herself, but he was always worrying about her. "…fine. Just don't slow me down."

She kissed him again. "I couldn't if I tried."


End file.
